Highlands United Church, 3255 Edgemont Blvd. North Vancouver, BC V7R 2P1

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

HIGHLIGHTS

March 10, 2019

Dante wrote, “In the middle of the road of my life I awoke in

a Dark Wood where the true way was wholly lost.” Such an

evocative description of moments when life places us in

unfamiliar, often uncomfortable places.

Experience of loss, emptiness, uncertainty happen.

We avoid them as best we can. But do they have something to

teach us? Do these moments offer us an opportunity to wake

up to a deeper life? Welcome to a new worship series,

“Gifts of the Dark Wood.”

Highlands Upcoming Events and Programs

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

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

Sunday, March 10 9:30 am Coffee/Tea in the Welcome Space 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service, Sanctuary 11:15 am Coffee & Hospitality, Welcome Space 11:30 am Birthday Celebrations, Fireside Room 11:30 am HUGG Meeting and Potluck, Room 202 11:45 am Re:Sound Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room Monday, March 11 10:00 am Highland Quilters, Choir Room 1:00 pm Prayer Shaw Ministry, Choir Room 1:30 pm Drawdown Course, Room 201 and Welcome Space 7:00 pm Drawdown Course, Room 201 and Welcome Space 7:30 pm Highlands Badminton, Gym 7:30 pm Healing Hands Appointments, Choir Room Chapel Tuesday, March 12 9:00 am Flea Market Sorting, Lower Hall and Small Kitchen 9:30 am ESL, Room 201 and 202 2:00 pm Gifts of the Dark Wood, Faith Room 7:00 pm Guitar for Fun, Storage Room 7:00 pm Gifts of the Dark Wood, Faith Room Wednesday, March 13 7:30 am Men’s Breakfast, Eighties Restaurant Thursday, March 14 9:30 am ESL, Room 201 and 202 12:00 pm ESL Speakers, Room 201 1:00 pm Shelter to Home Meeting, Choir Room 5:30 pm Thursday Dinner, Gym 6:00 pm Leadership Board Meeting, Faith Room 6:00 pm Genesis Too Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary 6:30 pm God’s Free Spirits Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room 8:00 pm Spirit Singers Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary Friday, March 15 10:00 am Fiddle Class, Room 201 Saturday, March 16 8:00 am CPR and Naloxone Training, Welcome Space 1:00 pm Saturday Lunch at North Shore Neighbourhood House Sunday, March 17 9:30 am Coffee/Tea in the Welcome Space 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service, Sanctuary 11:15 am Coffee & Hospitality, Welcome Space 11:30 am Highlands Annual General Meeting, Sanctuary 11:45 am Re:Sound Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room

In the stillness of the evening, in the sharing of a common spirit...a

reflection of one person’s experience at our recent

Ash Wednesday service:

I arrived home from Highlands humbled with an oil Cross

on my forehead, something I have made myself do for all the

recent years, regardless of what church I was attending. I

remember receiving the cross in New York when son

Lindsay lived there and receiving a French one in Montreal

when I was visiting son Rick. The service tonight was so gentle, no more

than maybe 35 people were there and the ministers led with a softness

vocalizing God’s assurance. The last prayer ended in: You are there, You

are there, You are there…..and I am reminded once again why I put all else

aside from time to time to be in worship with those who like me, are

committed to remembering God is there. I am touched by the beauty of it

all, the music and the words, and the warm community. I am fortunate to be

able, each time, to find a church to build my strength and Highlands heads

the list.

Beth

And even when we are far from home, we carry our faith close to

our hearts:

Thanks to a lot of Googling and friends who liked the sleuthing challenge, I

found an English church service with an imposition of ashes that took place

after our flight arrived in Rome this evening. We dropped our stuff in

Trastevere and trekked through the center of the city to the Caravita

Community’s English Ecumenical Liturgy, being held at the Jesuit

Cathedral of Sant’ Ignazio di Loyolta.

An Anglican minister welcomed us, a Methodist minister gave the homily,

and a Catholic father blessed us and sent us out, marked, into the night. We

stepped outside with food on our minds and rounded the corner to see the

Pantheon, accidentally.

This Lent I am, of course, letting go of a few things. But I’m officially

picking up the permission to be awed. Like by a community of people who

gather together despite their differences in the only sameness they have, by

the echo of a homily off the ornate walls of a cathedral that spans a city

block, by ancient pillars that leap into the sky, and by the forgiveness of

sins.

Andria

Collectibles & Antiques Sale

Saturday, May 11, 2019 9:00 am-noon

What we’re looking for—do

you have these in your attic?

Pictures-original art, limited and

unlimited edition prints, framed

old maps.

Photos-5x7 and up of ancestors, old

workplaces, historical, etc. Old ornate frames,

minus pictures, and some pictures, minus

frames do well. Posters of significant people and

events are popular.

JOIN THE

SHELTER TO HOME TEAM!

We are a small group doing big job, and we

would love you to join our team!

WE HAVE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

FOR:

Donation Phone Line Monitor

Donation Assessors

Sorters

Client Services

For full descriptions of these jobs, please see the information on the

Action Table, or on our website, www.sheltertohome.ca, under the

Community tab, or contact

Ardis Nelson at volunteer@sheltertohome.ca

To register on-line for “Gifts of the Dark Wood” or “If Love Wins”

go to: www.highlandsunited.org

Birthday Celebrations

JOIN US THIS SUNDAY March 10

for March BIRTHDAYS!

Fireside Room 11:15 am

Are you celebrating a birthday

this month? Join us for cake

(or fruit option) and fellowship

after the worship service in

the Fireside Room.

For more information speak

to Wendy McNaughton.

Update from the 15th

Capilano Scouts

The Scouts are pleased to announce that $367.60 was raised at their recent Hot Dog Sale in support of the Saturday Lunch Program.

Many thanks to all who enjoyed /contributed to this worthwhile venture.

A message from Highlands United

Growing Greener (HUGG) Group:

Drawdown’s Top-Ranked Ways to Reduce Atmospheric CO2

The book Drawdown offers 100 solutions to tackle the challenge

of climate change. The HUGG committee invites you to consider

another practical and effective way to reduce your impact on the

planet.

Solution #10 Rooftop Solar

Rooftop solar is delighting the Uros people who live on floating

reed islands in Lake Titicaca, Peru. There, and in rural areas all

over the world, solar panels offer a clean source of heat, and

electricity to run lights or a cell phone for the first time! But even

here in rainy North Vancouver, one homeowner has paid nothing

for his home energy for seven years because he has generated

more power than he uses from his solar panels. See http://

www.vrec.ca/blog/2013/04/08/7-years-of-100-solar-energy-in-

north-vancouver/.That might not surprise Highlands member

Peter Ackhurst, who has been watching on his computer screen

the power generated by his West Vancouver solar panels for

several years.

We hope you'll join us in exploring more of these 100 solutions to

reverse climate change in four sessions of Drawdown: Getting

Into Action! Led by Jim Bronson (who generates more solar

power than he can use) and our local HUGG member Sandi

Goldie, participants will discover ways we can further effective

efforts to create a sustainable future for those we love.

HUGG meets after worship this Sunday in room 202 for a potluck

lunch. New members are always welcome!

Drawdown: Getting into Action Workshops

Workshops are free but registration is requested.

Register at:

A qualified and diverse group of

researchers from around the world

identified, researched, and modeled

the most substantive, existing

solutions to address climate change.

What was uncovered is a path to roll

back global warming within 30 years.

Humanity has the means at hand.

Nothing new needs to be invented.

Our work is to accelerate the

knowledge and growth of what is

possible. Learn more about Project

DRAWDOWN and meet others in our

community who are already actively

working toward making a difference.

www.drawdown.org

A message from Highlands Refugee Committee:

Help Bring Bassel to Highlands!

Make a donation to Highlands Refugee Fund

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the

government of Canada identify and notify the United Church of Canada

of certain refugees who are at high risk for personal safety and who

need urgent sponsorship. Highlands United Church is sponsoring one

such refugee, Bassel, a 35 year old single Syrian male who has taken

refuge in the United Arab Emirates and who cannot return to his home

country of Syria due to fear for his safety. As he may arrive here shortly

after Easter, we are now fundraising for his 12 months of settlement and

living costs.

Your generous donation to the Highlands Refugee Fund will help

provide accommodation, food, clothing, furniture, basic household

needs, transportation and medical/dental fees. Our goal is to exceed

$10,000 in Refugee Fund donations by Easter. We are well on our way

to meeting this goal, but still need more donations to make this a

reality. Envelopes with special red dots, marked “Refugee Fund” are in

the pews. Refugee Committee members will also have donation sheets

at the Action Table in the Welcome Space on Sunday morning.

Questions?

Please contact Marilyn MacDonald by phone at 604-908-3747

or by e-mail at mmacd4753@gmail.com

Thank you!