Local Church News
Compiled by Mike Milne
Teddies without borders
Knitters from
Hope United in Nobel, Ont., part of the
Parry Sound Rural Pastoral Charge, have created close to 250 teddy bears, sending them though Doctors Without Borders to comfort ailing children in the developing world. The United Church Women at Hope United learned about the teddy bear program from one of the organization’s brochures that said doctors found children recover more quickly when they have a teddy bear to hold.
Clubbing in Oshawa
The name and location of its home congregation may have changed, but the Happy Doubles Club founded at
King Street United in Oshawa, Ont., carries on into its sixth decade — and may lay legitimate claim to being the longest running couples club in the United Church. Member
Betty Pearse says the club, now called Happy Doubles Plus, at the church now called
Kingsview United, was inaugurated on Feb. 7, 1945. “Rev. Verner McNeely and his wife felt that with the servicemen returning from the war there was a need to help the men and their families get some stability in their lives and return to the church family.” Renamed Doubles Plus in 1982 to include singles, the club celebrated its 60th anniversary two years ago. There are 51 members, including two “originals” who joined in 1945.
Hands-on project
Church folks at
St. James United, Hantsport, N.S., had their hands all over a very colourful Lenten project last year. Taking a page from the Seasons of the Spirit curriculum, the congregation created a four-coloured rainbow image of traced and cut-out hand patterns. The junior choir began the season with a row of purple hands and the three remaining rows were added during the following weeks.
Year-long celebration
St. Stephen’s United, Black River Bridge, N.B., heads into a new century after spending much of last year celebrating the 100th anniversary of its church building. Celebrations last year included performances by an area handbell choir and The MacLean Girls singers. There was a mid-summer open-air worship service and an old-fashioned UCW meeting, both of which included people attending in period dress.
Rev. Ivan Gregan of Dartmouth, N.S., presented a Celtic workshop and worship in mid-October and the anniversary service later that month topped off the year’s festivities.
Baking for parking
A group of volunteers took over the kitchen and church hall at
Chipman (N.B.) United last fall, cutting and peeling apples and rolling enough dough for 927 apple pies and apple crisps. The third annual “apple pie blitz” succeeded in paying off the cost of a new parking lot. Dozens of workers crowded the church for two-and-a-half days, with assembly lines washing apples, operating peeling machines, rolling dough and filling pies. Ready to baked right away or frozen, the pies and crisps were bagged; volunteers then phoned buyers to tell them their pies were ready. Beyond raising money, says parking lot fund-raising co-chair
Marjorie Price, volunteers also get to know one another better. “Friendship formed through working together is very valuable,” she says.
Hats on for M&S
The Mission & Service team at
St. Paul’s United, Sarnia, Ont., donned their “mission enthusiast” hats, made in the colours of the M&S logo, for a presentation to the congregation recently. The effort persuaded the congregation to raise its M&S goal by $2,000, to $19,000. When the time comes to pass the hat for M&S, say the enthusiasts, the congregation will be ready.
Quilted church portrait
Trinity United, Guelph, Ont., celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with an appliqué quilt portraying of its church building displayed outside the sanctuary. The quilt project, led by
Bernice Bunt and
Valerie Morrell, began in 2004 and completed in time for the anniversary. The quilt was created by resizing a photo of the church on a computer; the image was then traced onto background fabric and appliqué overlays were put into place. Quilting, with 15 women participating, began after a fabric “frame” was added.
If you have a project, program or just a piece of news that you’d like to share with the rest of The United Church of Canada, write to: Congregations, The United Church Observer, 478 Huron St., Toronto, Ont. M5R 2R3 Fax: (416) 960-8477 OR send us an email through the Contact Form.
