3255 Edgemont Blvd. North Vancouver, BC V7R 2P1

Ph: 604-980-6071 churchoffice@highlandsunited.org www.highlandsunited.org Rev. Will Sparks, Lead Minister

Highlights January 7, 2018

Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Highlands Upcoming Events and Programs

This list does not include rooms booked for outside rentals (Guides, AA, Alanon etc).

Highlands Event Calendar can be viewed on our web site at: www.highlandsunited.org

Sunday, January 7 9:30 am Coffee/Tea in the Welcoming Space 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service, Sanctuary 11:30 am Climate Group Meeting, Room 202 11:45 am Re:Sound Rehearsal, Choir Room 12:00 pm Music Man Rehearsa, Sanctuary and Room 201 Monday, January 8 1:00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry, Choir Room 6:00 pm Music Man Rehearsal, Sanctuary 7:00 pm Guitar for Fun, Storage Area 7:00 pm Healing Hands, Chapel & Choir Room 7:30 pm Badminton, Gym Tuesday, January 9 5:30 pm Ministry & Personnel Committee meeting, Choir Room 7:00 pm Music Man Rehearsal, Sanctuary 7:00 pm The Way of Discernment, Lower Hall Wednesday, January 10 7:30 am Men’s Breakfast, Eighties Restaurant 10:30 am Seniors Connection, Lower Hall Thursday, January 11 9:30 am ESL/ELL Beginner & Conversation Classes, 201 & 202 6:00 pm Leadership Board Meeting, Room 201 6:00 pm Genesis Too Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary 6:30 pm God’s Free Spirits Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room Friday, January 12 1:00 pm Memorial Service for David Hetherington Saturday, January 13 1:00 pm Saturday Lunch at North Shore Neighbourhood House Sunday, January 14 9:30 am Coffee/Tea in the Welcoming Space 11:15 am Coffee & Hospitality, Welcome Space 11:45 am Re:Sound Rehearsal, Choir Room

Threshold Questions

Back by popular demand!!! Many people asked for the list of Birthday/

New Year/Threshold questions that Will offered in his New Year’s Eve

sermon last week.

Here they are:

1. What is one thing not related to your work that you want to learn in

the coming year?

2. What are the two best habits you have picked up in the last four

years?

3. What is one place in nature you want to go in the coming year?

4. What is one thing that you used to do all the time and don’t do

much anymore but would like to pick up again?

5. Who is one person you got to know better in the past year?

6. Who is one person you want to learn something from in the

coming year?

7. What is one thing you used to be afraid of but aren’t anymore?

And Will’s big 3 for 2018:

1. What is one thing you would like to learn in the coming year that

you hope will bring you closer to God?

2. What is one ideal that you used to hold dear that you have let slide

over the years to which you would like to renew your commitment?

3. Who is one person you want to see more of this coming year?

“We stand on the brink of the unknown, which is to say that things are

normal, and good, and permissive of joy.” Daniel Berigan

January 10th…. With Blair Galston

Blair has served as the BC Conference Archivist

since 2006. He loves watching the characters of our

past come alive each time a box is opened. Blair will be speaking about the

history of United Church marine missions and the legendary “Thomas

Crosby”. Come prepared for time travel through story, photograph, film, and

audience participation!

January 24th…. From Shelter to Home with Ruth Kershaw

Shelter to Home, a volunteer group of Highlands United Church, provides free

furniture and household goods to those in need. Ruth will share some stories

of clients who say their lives have been changed. It all started in September

2008 when a Lookout Outreach worker asked for help for one man. Nine years

and 1,300 clients later, Shelter to Home is a vital program on the North Shore.

February 7th…. Guatemala with Will Sparks and Bernadette Woit

Accompany Bernadette and Will on a journey into the life of the Mayan people-

challenges and success including how volunteer groups give a hand up.”

February 21st.… Guide Dog Training with Susan Hughes.

You may know Susan and Bonnie (guide dog in training) as members of

Highlands United Church as they are seen together most everywhere. Susan

is a puppy trainer with BC and Alberta Guide Dogs, and she will share some of

her experiences of the process of focussed training and possibilities that await

Bonnie. You may also meet Ros and her working dog Rory to appreciate the

full circle of guide dog training and the gift of independence these dogs bring.

March 7th…. Galapagos Islands with Bonny and Dave Ball

Come and join Dave and Bonny for pictures and memories from their family

trip along the equator in Ecuador and the Galapagos. Through their

presentation you will experience a little of this magical place where wildlife is

so close you can almost touch them.

March 28th.… A Play a Pie and a Pint at Centennial Theatre.

Come and listen to the fabulous Saxalamode Sax Quartet play your favorite

jazz tunes to the sensuous tangos of Astor Piazzolla. From Charlie Parker to

Count Basie, Duke Ellington and big screen movie ballads, come and hear

tunes that will bring back many memories. Cost $22

Contact Colleen by February 15th for tickets and details.

Seniors Connection

Winter 2018 Schedule

Friendly Drivers Needed!

The Seniors Connection events offer folks the opportunity to get out

and visit with one another and keep in touch socially, physically and

spiritually, but they need to be able to get here!! If you would be

interested in picking up folks for any of the Wednesday programmes,

your efforts would be truly appreciated and many blessings would be

bestowed upon you! Also, a mileage allowance to help offset the cost

of gas can be offered.

Please speak to Colleen Blair for more information:

colleen.blair@highlandsunited.org or call 604 980 6071 ext 27.

Your Church Needs You

Teaching English Language Spiritual Hour

Every Tuesday and Thursday at 11am, 15 people learn

English by talking together about spiritual topics. Led by

Sandi Parker, Linda Greven, Colleen Blair and Will Sparks,

the class explores all things spiritual including values, beliefs,

practices, celebrations, and teachings from the Christian

tradition and other traditions.

This program needs one or two more leaders to take 3-5

classes per semester. This is a joyful opportunity to get to

know some new Canadians, explore thoughts and ideas, and

offer your gifts of teaching and friendship. If this interests

you, please call the Church Office or talk with Sandi Parker,

Linda Greven, or Will Sparks.

Amica Hosts Needed

Every Sunday the Highlands service is

livestreamed to a lovely gathering of 8-

15 people at Amica Seniors Home in

Edgemont Village. We host these

services by simply attending with

bulletins and welcoming the residents.

We have a small cluster of volunteers and need one or two more.

This is a simple outreach opportunity to seniors who can’t make it out

to the services but want to be connected to Highlands.

For more information, talk to Colleen Blair, Will Sparks or call the

Church Office.

AGCE? CEAG? CAGE?

from the Action Group on Climate and

Environment? (AGEC?)

Well, even the members of our group

have had difficulty getting our name right!

So we have the perfect fix: a new and easy name. By unanimous

vote, we are now the

Highlands United Growing Greener Team.

And that spells HUGG – which is nicely reflected in our logo and,

of course, is what we should all be doing to the earth!

We’re meeting after worship January 6, and the first Sunday of

every month, for potluck lunch in Room 202; newcomers are always

welcome!

The HUGG Team extends thanks to the crew of volunteers who

spent two days changing most of the sanctuary lights from

incandescent to LED before Christmas. The project was

spearheaded by Dave Wilson

and Alex Wood, with

assistance from Doug Irwin

and Doug Mackay.

Pendant and flood lights, 140

bulbs changed, for a saving

of 11,464 Watts of power!

And less than four years to

pay back the investment!

A message from Highlands Shelter to Home Team

As we step over the threshold into 2018, I would like

to express my gratitude to our church for supporting

Shelter to Home. In September, Shelter to Home will

celebrate its 10th birthday. From September 2008 to

December 2017, we have assisted 1319 clients.

Through the years there has been a steady stream of

changes, from being housed in the garage at my

home to having a modest storage facility, from serving only the North

Shore Lookout Homeless Shelter to serving more than a dozen

North Shore agencies, from helping mostly men ranging in age from

20 to 50, to serving more women and children than men, and helping

families with babies and octogenarians. When the program began in

September 2008, my husband Bill and I did most of the work

involved in collecting and distributing furniture and household goods.

Now we have a core group of 11 people who do the jobs of

answering our donor line, assessing potential donations, sorting the

goods we receive, transporting goods, updating our web site,

working with clients and planning for the future. Additionally, with a

grant from the United Church, we have hired a storage manager, on

a three-month trial. His work has made our work much easier.

Central to the operation of this outreach program is our church's

belief that everyone should have enough, and that acts of

compassion in crucial circumstances can change lives.

In the Fall, a counselor at a local High School called the church

office, asking if the church had any furniture for a Grade 12 student

whose mother, a single parent, had died in July. The boy had the

opportunity of renting a suite in the home of a family who took him in

when his Mom had passed away. Shelter to Home provided

everything John and his older brother needed to furnish and equip

their new apartment....beds, dressers, couch and chairs, kitchen

table, dishes, linens. We had the privilege of helping a vulnerable

young man at a crucial time in his life. John has a bright future—he

will study design at university this Fall. He has a full scholarship and

the ongoing support of the family in whose apartment he is living.

To continue our work we need your help. The storage is bare! Please

spread the following list among you friends and colleagues:

We have

0 couches

2 love seats

3 easy chairs

0 kitchen tables and chairs

0 chests of drawers

0 bed side tables

0 coffee tables

1 end table

0 flat screen TVs

1 microwave

0 coffee makers

1 toaster

0 pots of all sizes

8-12oz drinking glasses

few kitchen tools including can openers, knives, peelers, serving

spoons, egg flippers etc

0 sheets for queen and double beds

few warm comforters and blankets for all sizes of bed

few towel sets

0 dish cloths

Our need for furniture and household goods never ends.

Thanks for your continuing support.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy 2018,

Ruth Kershaw

Start-up for our 2018 season will be on Tuesday morning, January

16th in the Lower Hall—join us around 8:45am for sorting donations

and socializing!

This is a project for the whole congregation so if you are free at that

time, do consider coming to join a wonderful group of people, a few of

whom have been sorting for over 30 years! Meet and get to know

some of these faithful workers as we gather each Tuesday to prepare

for our annual Flea Market sale in October.

No experience necessary! Training and helpful coaching provided.

Volunteers are needed in most departments.

Mark your calendars—our next Gigantic Flea Market sale will be on

Saturday, October 13, 2018.

(If Tuesday mornings don’t work for your schedule but you could help

regularly at some other time, please contact Chris Robertson or

Bonny Ball to see what could be arranged.)

Looking forward to another successful year together!

Highlands Flea Market Team