New Vision Notes for Thursday December 12, 2024

Welcome to a new edition of New Vision Notes! We are grateful to be reaching your inbox each week. This coming Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent! Our worship will be led by Helen, Dottie, Pauline, and other fabulous folks from our New Vision Community.

Please mark your calendar: Christmas Eve Service will be on Tuesday December 24th at 4:00pm (with communion) and will be followed by Christmas Eve Dinner.

Christmas is a time when many are decorating, going to parties, and making merry. These things are all important, fun and good, AND some of us may find it hard to enter into the spirit of the season. Maybe we are far from our home country, have experienced the death of a beloved person or pet, are distanced or estranged from family, navigating mental or physical illness, or just doing our best to survive in the current economic and political landscape. If this is you, New Vision welcomes you at our Blue Christmas Service on Tuesday December 17th at 6:30pm, whether in-person or by Zoom (we will use the regular Sunday worship link found at the bottom of this newsletter). The service is a quiet, contemplative time of Scripture, carols, and ritual, in a space of shared grief, loss, remembrance, and hope. “Just who you are, with the way that you’re feeling, is fine. You don’t have to be anything more than who you are right now.” – Fred Rogers

This Advent, KAIROS is issuing a Call for Prayer for Palestine, inviting you to join in collective prayer every day at noon, wherever you are in the world. Together, let us lift our voices to God, seeking justice, peace, and hope for Palestine and Palestinians, especially in these extremely difficult times.

Please click here to view and save the prayer. Please consider sharing it with your personal networks and community. Through the unity of our prayers, we affirm our faith in the transformative power of God’s love, standing in solidarity with those who yearn for freedom and justice.

This week, our friends at Eglinton St. George’s United Church in Toronto generously gifted New Vision a Heintzman & Co. baby grand piano! Shawn Grenke (former Music Director of Centenary United) immediately thought of us when the beautiful instrument became available and took great initiative in coordinating its safe delivery by way of piano technician Haydn Evans and his team. We are all very excited to hear it lovingly played by the talented hands of Martine! Thank you ESG, Shawn and team!

Our friends at Bait-un-Nur Mosque have invited us to attend their upcoming event this Sunday. “Muhammad: Mercy for Mankind” will explore the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and their relevance, with discussions on the role of communities in fostering understanding, promoting equality, and contributing to the betterment of society.

In the wake of increasing unrest and conflicts around the world, the Ahmadiyya Jamaat has been actively involved in initiatives that foster peace, tolerance, and social harmony. Their motto, “Love for All, Hatred for None,” encapsulates the essence of their mission, emphasizing the importance of unity and compassion in today’s challenging times.

Details:

Date: Sunday, 15^th December, 2024

Time: 2:00PM – 3:30PM

Venue: Bait-un-Nur Mosque, 2301 King St E, Hamilton

If you are interested in attending, please confirm your attendance by registering for the free event, to assist with numbers for planning refreshments etc.

Please contact Jawad at 587-892-8559 or outreach.hamilton@ahmadiyya.ca if you have any questions.

This year, Christmas eve dinner will be held after our annual Christmas Eve worship service on Tuesday, Dec. 24th. Volunteers are needed in the following roles: shopping, food prep., cooking, clean-up crew. We are also looking for a few folks to bring in cooked & prepared dishes that can be reheated well on Christmas eve. Please contact Jen Hompoth on Sunday or on Whatsapp for more details.

In response to the Canada Post Strike, Broadview want to ensure all subscribers can still enjoy the magazine they love. Over the next week or two they will be sending out a digital version of the January/February 2025 issue to active subscribers with an email on file and everyone who has completed the online contact update form ( tinyurl.com/broadviewconnect2024 ). Once postal service is restored they will mail out the printed issue(s). 2025 Subscriptions for the United Church’s Broadview Magazine are still available for purchase! For only $30, you can receive this excellent publication in your mail for a full year! To subscribe, please see Arlene or leave $30 in an envelope with your name/address and “Broadview Subscription” written on it and place it in the collection plate during the offering. (If you haven’t read an issue of Broadview, there are a limited number of copies available on the table at the back of our worship space each Sunday at no cost for our community to share).

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.