December 16, 2022 Newsletter
Minister’s Message
Dear Friends and Members of St. Andrew’s,
My prayer is that this Christmas season will be filled with God’s peace and joy because of the good news of great joy - the Saviour has been born to us!
Think about that for a moment. God Incarnate has come to us! And in His coming, He brings the hope of heaven, peace unavailable in this world, an unshakeable joy, and love that is extravagant.
Christmas Eve service is on Sat., Dec. 24 at 7 pm, and Christmas Day service is on Sun., Dec. 25 at 10 am. We will not livestream the Christmas Day service.
We hope you will come and join us with your family this Christmas and celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas!
Linda Park
Congregational Renewal
On Sunday December 11, fifty-two members and adherents gathered in St. Andrew’s Hall to participate in facilitated small group discussions for a process of discovery to discern what we are being called to be as a church. The large group sharing was expertly moderated by Pastor Mike Kleinhuis of The Centre Community Church in Lindsay. Stay tuned as the information is compiled and shared.
The children are making these beautiful nativity scenes in Sunday School.
Jean Rutherford
November 21, 2022
Christmas Concert
Two wonderful performances took place on December 2nd and 4th, with a total of approximately 160 guests in attendance. Many thanks go to everyone who had a role in making this such a great success!
Games Night is Back: Friday, January 13 from 7-9.
An informal small group Bible Study will begin in January to discuss ‘Open to the Spirit’ by Scot McKnight. The book is available at Kent Book Store, Chapters and Amazon. If you are interested, please contact Mary Jeffrey by January 3. Meetings will be on Tuesdays, with more details available when the number of people interested has been established.
Christmas Tea & Luncheon Included Singing and Behind the Scenes Teamwork!
A terrific turnout and wonderful time on a bad weather day. Many thanks to everyone who attended and those that helped in so many ways. So grateful that we had power the whole time too. God is so faithful.
Dyan Wallace House
On November 30, 2022, at A Place Called Home, a very special ceremony took place to honour the legacy of Dyan Wallace, a well loved and respected employee at APCH. One of the newly renovated buildings has been rededicated to ~ Dyan Wallace House.
Support Cards
We will continue with:
Food Basics
La Mantia’s
Loblaws
Shoppers Drug Mart
Canadian Tire
Home Hardware
Other vendors will remain available until we run out.
If you have a prayer request, or a desire to have others come alongside you in prayer, please do not hesitate to send your request to:
or call the church at 705.324.4842
Ukrainian Family Update
It seems impossible that Nataliia and her boys have been with us for over five months. The boys registered at St. Dominic School in September. Both are doing very well and in many instances are further ahead than their classmates. Vladyslav was very proud to show his mom how he topped his class in Mathematics. Nataliia, as you know, started work at the Days Inn here in Lindsay soon after arriving. She welcomed the opportunity to work and the staff at the Days Inn were very welcoming. But the work was only two or three days a week and there was limited opportunity to continue learning English.
Fortunately, Adam Nesbitt needed help at his store and after meeting Nataliia, offered her employment for five days a week part time. He has been so very gracious and understanding of Nataliia’s situation, he actually tailored her working hours so she could be home to see the boys off to school and completed her shift in time to get home before they finished school. If you are in the shop say ‘Hi’ to Nataliia and be sure to thank Adam. What a wonderfully supportive community we have.
Unfortunately, the situation for Nataliia’s husband and family has not improved. They struggle often without heat or water and the missile attacks continue. Please pray for her family.
Thanks to the generosity of our church family, the boys are outfitted for winter and have spent time having fun in the snow. They love it!! Vladyslav and Yaroslav are getting into the Christmas spirit by helping Marnie decorate her tree. Christmas away from their family will be difficult. A very special thank you to Marnie Nelles who continues to graciously offer her home and so much more to the family. Eventually our Outreach group will be working on finding an apartment for Nataliia. As she currently earns slightly above the minimum wage we know that will not be an easy task. Your prayers and support in that regard will be much appreciated.
Dianne Dalton, Outreach & Missions Ministry Team
