ConnexionsMemorial United Church, Grand Falls-Windsor, NL Issue 9 / Springr 2013

On November 11, 2012, it was witha great deal of excitement that thecongregation of Memorial UnitedChurch, Grand Falls-Windsor, burnedthe church building mortgage.

For many of those gathered for theceremony and festivities there weremany memories. Many rememberedthe old church and the struggle todecide to demolish the old one andbuild new. On November 11, 1990,the new churchwas officiallyopened by theModerator, RightReverend Walter

Farquharson.

With great anxiety we had taken ontwo loans: one from the Bank ofMontreal and one from the NationalChurch. In 2007, we concluded thepayments to the Bank of Montrealand concentrated our efforts on retir-ing the debt to the National Church.

For the past twenty-two years mem-bers of Memorial United held many

Congregation HoldsMortgage Burning

TreasurerGraham Harris,Past TreasurerRandy Jane andRev. MylesVardy, Presidentof Conference.

Easter Services

Maundy Thursday.…... Cantata with the Men's ChoirGood Friday..................... 11:00am. morning serviceEaster Sunday....….…............ 8:00am. Communion

11:00am. regular service

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fundraisers. They ranged from bakesales, quilt shows, and penny drivesto very elaborate dinner theatre pro-ductions. It is interesting to note thatour congregation never became dis-couraged under the weight of such adebt. Regular activities continuedunabated. Choirs thrived, SundaySchool classes continued. We evenhosted Conference meetings twice.

Fellowship was a high priority overthe past twenty years and becausewe were concentrating on makingpayments many members foundthemselves in the kitchen renewingacquaintances or making newfriends as they peeled potatoes,cooked meals and washed dishes.

Another outcome from such an en-deavour was the formation of ourMen's choir. It was formed for theopening service of the new churchand continues to this day.

We were delighted to have thePresident of Conference, Rev.Myles Vardy, participate in ourMortgage Burning Celebration. Inattendance also were: Rev. FaithMarch-MacCuish, Rev. HeatherSandford, Rev. Roger Janes, Rev.Royden Reynolds, and guest preach-er Rev. Larry Watkins. Rev. Wat-kins was minister at the time of theopening of the new church. We

were also pleased to welcome civicofficials: Mr. Scott Simms, Memberof Parliament; Honorable SusanSullivan, Member of House ofAssembly; and Mr. Allan Hawkins,Mayor of Grand Falls-Windsor.Flowers were placed in the sanctu-ary by the Official Board on behalfof the congregation in memory ofdeceased members of the newchurch building development com-mittee. Bulletins were donated bylong time members Roy and EmilyStoodley in honour of the membersof the UCW and Men's Choir. Abeautiful cake was donated byLloyd Goodyear, one of our mostsenior members.

Plaques were also presented to theUCW and Men's Choir by the Offi-cial Board in honour of the greatwork these two groups have doneover the past twenty-two years.

Following the ceremony a celebra-tion supper was shared in the CECenter. Guest speaker was Rev.Royden Reynolds, who has been amainstay of this congregation for anumber of years.

We now go forward with faith toembrace whatever the future holdsin all its richness, challenges, andexcitement.

Mortgage Burning (continued from page 1)

Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge.….Abraham Joshua Heschel

The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure.….David Herbert Lawrence

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Greetings Friends,

As I sit down to write this message, I am aware that it has beensome time since Memorial United has produced a newsletter. Notbecause there has been nothing happening in this place but ratherbecause so much has been happening! I am pleased, therefore,to know that our small piece of the world has settled enough, thatwe are once again seeking to be in community with one another.

It's a strange truth of humanity that when we hurt, we most oftenturn inward - In depression we will seek the quiet of a darkenedbedroom; In grief we will often gather close within our family units;In confusion we will sometimes go off into a corner to brood. It'snot unlike a dog who has been hit by a car crawling off to lick hiswounds in private.

As we now walk through the season of Lent and towards GoodFriday, I am struck by the juxtaposition of our basic instinct ofwithdrawal from the world when we hurt, and basic instinct ofJesus on the cross who cried out for love in the midst of great pain.He whom we wish so much to emulate, opened himself to familyand community instead of closing his eyes and bearing his hurtsalone. To the very end, his concern was for those around him,rather than for himself.

As we begin to open up and learn how to be family together, it ismy deepest prayer for this congregation that we might truly learnhow to trust one another...and be trustworthy for one another.That when we hurt we feel capable of reaching out and saying,'Help me.' That when we see others hurting we reach out in loveand offer a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on.

By being together in loving community, we can walk with eachother through the darkness so that no one is ever alone... andtogether, we come into the light, laughing as we fine our Easter.

Be well,Rev. Kim

Kim’s Desk

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Have you all met our new minister,The Rev. Kimberley Waite? Shehas been with us since last August.It has been so refreshing to havesuch an energetic young person tolead our Church family.

Rev. Kim was born in Summerside,Prince Edward Island where herparents and brother still reside. Herbrother and his wife are expectingtheir first child this summer. Rev.Kim is very excited about becomingan aunt.

Rev. Kim attended The Universityof Prince Edward Island inCharlottown, where she receivedher first degree. She worked acouple of years before enteringTheology. She felt the call for the

Ministry or as she said, "TheMinistry chose her." She attendedand graduated from the AtlanticSchool of Theology in Halifax,Nova Scotia. In 2008 she arrived inNewfoundland Labrador to take herfirst parish at Oakland UnitedChurch in Corner Brook. In August2012 Rev. Kim accepted the postionhere at Memorial United.

Rev. Kim is an inspirtional and acompassionate minister. She hasvery strong preaching skills and hasa great rapport with the youngpeople of our congregation. She isbringing many new ideas to ourcogregation and still very respectfulof our traditional beliefs andpractices here at Memorial UnitedChurch.

Rev. Kim, we areso pleased tohave you andyour silver tabbycat, Stewie, cometo Grand Falls-Windsor to joinour churchfamily here atMemorial United.

Welcome, Rev. Kim,to Memorial United

The Rev. Kimberley Waite (OM), B.A., M. Div (2008)

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Our Church FamilyWe are in the process of bringing upto date the names and addresses ofthose who consider MemorialUnited Church their home church.Over the years we have lost contactwith many who have moved to anew address, in town or out of town,and some who have moved backhere. The committee membersworking on this update (church rolls)are Ray Penney, Harry Parsons,Lloyd Hiscock, Gloria Raines andWalter Scott. You may receive atelephone call from one of them aswe try to verify your correct address.Should this happen, please don't beannoyed, as the committee membersdo not know all of the people withinour church family. We appreciateyour patience and co-operation aswe try to maintain contact with you.

Wall of CelebrationWhat a wonderful way to remembersignificant milestones, events oreven the life of a departed familyloved one! Have the event, in-dividual's names, dates, etc en-graved on a plaque to be placed onthe vestibule wall of MemorialUnited Church.To order a plaque, you may get an

order form from the Church officeor from the vestibule of the Church.Fill out the order form with therequired information and submit itto the Church office along with a$50.00 contribution.

Bad Boys of The BibleBible Study and Discussion:Wednesdays, March 6, 13, 20, 27,April 3, 10, 17, 24 @2 - 3:00pm.Come explore some of the moreinteresting wayward heroes of theBible.

CongregationalCommunication WorkshopTuesday, April 16 & 23 @ 7:30 pm.Come see where you stand on thetheological spectrum and learn howto understand and better Com-municate with those who aredifferent from you. Together wewill discuss how we understandourselves to be and live as a Church.Workshops will be based on PaulJones 'Theological Worlds'.

Church Life

Would like Rev. Kim to visit:If you or a loved one are in thehospital and would like a visit,please call Rev. Kim. I can't visitif I don't know you are there!

Watch forFamily Movie

Nightto be announced soon!

Kiwanis Music Festival 2013Many of our young peoplewill be taking part in theKiwanis Music Festival. Wewish them all the best of luck.

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Memorial United Church will hold this year's "In Memoriam Hymn Sing"on Sunday, May 12, 2013 (Mother's Day) at the 11:00 am. service. Friendsare asked to help with this special project by choosing a hymn or hymns inmemory of loved ones and making a pledge. You may choose from thefollowing hymns:1. Thy Word2. In The Garden3. I Am Walking a Path of Peace4. How Great Thou Art5. Just A Closer Walk With Thee6. Jesus, You Have Come To The Lake Shore7. Wonderful Loving Mothers8. Mother’s Day Greeting9. The Rose That Keeps on Blooming (A Mother's Day Song) Church choir members will soon be circulating their sheet or you maycontact the Church office to make a pledge.

Memorial United Annual "In Memoriam Hymn Sing"

Ralph Angel, Howard Barnes,Garfield Roberts, Merricks Chipp,and Gregory Forward make up thisvery talented Music Group, TheUC5, here at Memorial UnitedChurch. These five gentlemenbranched off from the Men' Choir toform this group about 14 years ago.They meet at Ralph's everyThursday night to practiceand for a good jam session.Since their formation theyhave been in great demand.They have shared theirmusic and song at many ofour regular Sundayservices; weekly, theyplay and sing at a seniors’home - Hollett's, TwinTown, Golden YearsEstates or the Carmelite;

and perform at many fund-raisingfunctions such as Festival of Praise,SPCA, St. Joseph's St. Patrick's Daycelebration, Windsor PentecostalCoffee Shop, etc.

Thank you, gentlemen, for the manyhours of entertainment you havegiven us with your music and songs.

The UC5 Music Group

7News from

The United Church Women

Greetings on behalf of MemorialUnited Church UCW.

Many changes have taken placewithin our organization over thepast two years. What was once fourunits with individual leaders andone President has now combinedinto one large unit of 80 memberswith a full Executive. With thereorganization of our UCW camemany challenges. With thededication of all the members wehave created many new ways ofdoing things while still holding onto some of the old. The Executivehas made the transition as smooth aspossible for everyone and it seemsto be working well. We continue towelcome new members.

Our UCW members here atMemorial United continue to playan active role in the life and work ofthe church. We visit the sick andshut-ins in their homes, hospital andseniors homes regularly. The UCWhave expressed their sympathythroughout the year to memberswho have lost loved ones and have

provided lunches following funerals.So far, 2013 has been especiallydifficult having lost four of ourUCW members.

We still do some catering, but not asmuch as we did in years past. Overthe last couple of years we havefocused more on outreach. Wedonate to many organizations in thecommunity, the province andoverseas. We also do the breakfastprogram at Exploits ValleyIntermediate School every Mondaymorning. We have started exerciseclasses on Monday, Wednesday andFriday at 9:30 a.m. for anyone whowould like to attend. We collect poptabs and the monies received will goto buy wheelchairs and other itemsfor children who need them.

Thank you to Memorial UnitedChurch congregation for yourcontinued support in all ourendeavors.

Eileen ButtUCW President

“United As One”

The UCW annual Jumble Sale will be taking placein the C E Center at Memorial United Church

on Saturday morning, April 27, 2013.Doors will open at 9:00 am.

Save your junk and treasures for this special event!

JUMBLE SALE

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Our choral program is in full swingas we prepare for the Easter season.The Church Choir formed thenucleus of the Cantata Choir thatpresented the "Winter Rose" inDecember. The cantata was a verychallenging piece but with hardwork by everyone involved, the endresult exceeded our wildest ex-pectations.

Having been bit by the cantata bug,the Men's Choir is practicing acantata for Easter entitled "Praisethe God of Resurrection". If all

goes well, it will be presented onMaunday Thursday. If all does notgo well, we will present it onMaunday Thursday, in the evening...next year.

Our choral program plays animportant part in the ministry ofmusic and life of our church. If youlike to sing and think you may enjoyparticipating, please don't hesitateto come along to choir practiceevery Wednesday evening. It isnever too late to join and we wouldlove to have you!

REPORTS

The 36th Annual "Festival of Praise"was held at Evangel PentecostalTabernacle on Tuesday, February 5,2013. We were very pleased to haveThe Rev. Lorne K. Freake, Directorof Ministry Advancement (Mari-

times) of the Canadian BibleSociety, as our guest speaker at thisvery special service.

Thank you to the representatives

Our Sunday School program ishaving another successful year.Approximately 40 children areregistered and weekly attendance isstrong. This year we have a numberof 'part time' teachers who taketurns teaching Sunday School. Thishas been an unqualified success.

In addition to the regular seasonalactivities of our program, ourchildren are involved in additionalactivities within our church.Building on last year's success, ourgrade 4, 5, and 6 class has organized

another cupcake and craft sale. Theproceeds from the event will bedonated to the Mission andService fund. They are having funas they develop a sense ofresponsibility.

Some of our older children are onthe regular readers list and taketurns reading the scripture duringSunday services. Our church isproviding a venue for our youngpeople to develop self confidencewhile learning how to live in God'sway.

Choral Program

Sunday School

Bible Society

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9Where are they now?Have you ever wondered where some of our former Memorial UnitedChurch members have gone? Well...Mary Lou Stoodley, daughter of Roy Stoodley now resides inCorbyville, Ontario.Andrew Barnes, son of Howard Barnes now resides in Bedford, NovaScotia.Christine & Marty Flood now reside in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia.Jennifer Moore, daughter of Dorothy Moore is now residing in Victoria,British Columbia.Carol Ann Parsons, daughter of Harry & Anna Parsons now resides inTeslin, Yukon.Dr. Barbara Kellerman, our organist for many years now resides inWaterloo, Ontario.Richard & Wanda Marsh now reside in Paradise, NewfoundlandLabrador.Susan Butt, daughter of Nina & Harold Butt now resides inMartensville, Saskatchewan.

from each of our individualChurches in the Grand Falls-Windsor and Bishop Falls area whoprovided us with a wonderfulevening of music and song. A very

special thank you to the UC5 Musicgroup for their selection and allMemorial United Church con-gregational members who sup-ported our Festival of Praise.

Bible Society Festival of Praise (continued from previous page)

Radio Broadcasts

Memorial United Church has scheduled seven morning ChurchServices live on VOCM Radio for 2013. These broadcasts provide awonderful opportunity for Church members who are unable to attend,to share in morning worship. If you are interested in sponsoring aservice or contributing towards the cost of a service in memory ofloved ones, please contact the Church Office at 489 6151. Eachbroadcast cost is $265.00.

Available Dates: April21, June 9, August 18, and December 1.

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The 5th Grand Falls-Windsor GirlGuides have been meeting atMemorial United Church for fiveyears. They meet Monday eveningsfrom 6:30 pm. to 8:30 pm. Guidesis a great opportunity for girls ages9 - 11 years to learn the values ofbeing independent, to display self-respect, to be trustworthy and under-standing, while been empoweredwith knowledge and leadershipskills through various activities andcommunity service projects.

They spend time with girls their ownage learning to be friends, to co-

operate with others, and to buildself-esteem. The girls have workedhard and acquired a number ofbadges this year - Fitness, CulturalAwareness, Heritage, ProvincialHeritage, Folklore, Reporting,Postal, Canadian Guiding, WorldGuiding, Snowshoeing, etc. Somefuture plans for our group areenvironmental clean-ups, an Eastercelebration, a spring camp , and asummer camp.

We would like to thank MemorialUnited Church for helping to makeall of this possible for us.

Girl Guides

HearingAssistedTechnology(HAT)

Thanks to our UCW and the Canadian Hard of HearingAssociation - Newfoundland and Labrador, we aremaking the Sanctuary hearing accessible. Receiversmay be borrowed from the sound room and returnedafter each service. Should you wish to purchase yourown compatible unit, please talk to Harold Butt (489-5313) for more information

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morningstarting at 9:30 am. in the C E Centre.

P A R K I N G !There are some very positive results when one parks one's vehiclein the parking space furthest from the church entrance - we get thatlittle bit of extra exercise from our walk to the church; and we givethose congregational members who may 'need' to find parkingspace close to the church entrance, the opportunity to do so.

11Our Webpages

Memorial United Church webpage:www.memorialunited.com/

Events calendar:www.memorialunited.com/calendar.php

List of Readers, Choir schedule and Broadcast schedule:www.memorialunited.com/lists-and-schedules.php

To receive information about church events by email,please contact Dave Stoodley at dstoodley@gmail.com.

To contact Church Office by Email:mucsecretary@gmail.com

All Churches of Christian denomina-tions and confessions co-operate ina 'Proclamation' event. They allmeet around a common cause - TheBible. A Proclamation event is anexciting way to raise the profile ofthe Scriptures in your Church andcommunity. Everyone is invited toread - the very young person to theolder person; someone who can

read in another language; come asan individual, a family, or a group.This event will be happening atMemorial United Church fromApril 18, 2013 - April 27, 2013. Itwill start at 7:00 am. and finish at9:00 pm. daily. Sign-up sheets willsoon be circulating. Hope to seemany of you at Memorial UnitedChurch for this exciting event.

Proclamation:The reading of God's Word aloud , in public, and in its

entirety, from the beginning to the end.

There is an ongoing need forcontributions to the Food Bank.Contributors may bring items to theChurch or items may be taken

directly to the Food Bank. It issituated at 20 Lincoln Rd. on theparking lot across from the HolidayLanes Bowling Center.

Community Food Bank

12 Church DirectoryMinister Rev. Kimberley WaiteMinister Emeritus Rev. Royden ReynoldsLay Readers Walter Scott, Harry Parsons, Alice Cater, Gerald Thompson, David Anthony and Albert GarlandOrganist Wallace RobinsonOrganist/Jr. Choir Director Pete BanfieldChoir Director Glenn Mouland

Church Officers and OrganizationsChurch Secretary Rochelle ForwardRecording Secretary Melinda AnthonyTreasurer Graham HarrisChief Usher Brian ReidOfficial Board Ralph AngelStewardship Committee Howard BarnesChristian Education Comm. Roseline MoulandCommunications CommitteePastoral Care CommitteeSession Ray PenneyProperty Committee David StoodleyFinance Committee Bob HedgesUnited Church Women Eileen ButtLay Representatives to Presbytery & Conference

David Anthony, Ralph AngelSuperintendent of Sunday School Roseline MoulandScout Group Committee David StoodleyCanadian Bible Society Reps Cora Randell and Gloria RainesChurch Camp Loon Bay Reps

Ray Penney and Youth Rep, Andrew CaterMinistry and Personnel Harry ParsonsCaretaker Stephen Dalley

Editor: Gloria RainesLayout: Wallace Robinson

Memorial United Church13 Church Rd.P.O. Box 454Grand Falls-Windsor, NLA2A 2J8489-6151 -- Church Office490-2156 -- Minister’s Office

Over a century of faith and service -- 1906-2006www.memorialunited.com