May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!
The spring freshet is over, buds are appearing on the trees, and we've had a couple of good thunderstorms in recent weeks - spring is definitely in the air! Today (April 22) is Earth Day - I've written an Earth Day post on our Facebook Page - if you haven't seen it yet, you can check it out by clicking here.
I have a couple of announcements to pass along in this week's Mid-Week Message:
Calling All Artists!
Ross Sherwood has an idea for another Mission and Service Fundraiser, but he needs the help of an artist or two. If you are interested in working with Ross to create a large mural over the summer, please get in touch with him - call or text 654-1444 or e-mail rostia@nb.sympatico.ca
Reminder of Covid Protocols
If you follow the news, you may have heard that just before Easter there was someone with Covid in worship at River Cross Church in Saint John, and just this past Sunday the same thing happened at St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church. While I see the River Cross story as a good news story - the virus didn't spread to anyone in the congregation which means that Covid precautions and protocols must be working - and as we pray for a similar outcome for our neighbours at St. Matthew's, I think that these stories are a reminder that we need to be vigilant every time we gather.
* We need to make sure that our attendance sheets at each worship service and every other gathering are complete and accurate in case Public Health needs to do contact tracing (thank you to all of our greeters; and please extend grace to our greeters if your name slips their mind and they have to ask, or if they don't recognize you behind your mask)
* Masks must be worn at all times in the buildings.
* Please make sure that you are keeping your distance from one another at all times, and clear the building quickly after the service so that our greeters can begin the task of wiping down surfaces. Any visiting that you want to do can happen more safely outside!
Worship on Sunday
Our services will be at 9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westfield (with livestreaming of the Westfield service on Facebook Live). This week we'll be wrestling with the commandment to love one another, not only in words but in action too (1 John 3:16:24).
Parking Lot Coffee Hours
There has been some discussion, now that we've had a couple of nice days, about resuming our Parking Lot Coffee Hours. Weather permitting (and as long as the Saint John zone stays yellow), we will resume these gatherings the first week of May. Our schedule will be the same as it was last summer:
Summerville - Tuesdays at 11am
Westfield - Tuesdays at 3pm
Long Reach - Thursdays at 11am
Bring a lawn chair, bring your beverage of choice, don't forget the sunscreen, and we will have a chance to sit (physically distanced) and visit with our neighbours. Please help me spread the word to those not on e-mail... and these gatherings are open to anyone in the community, not just our church people.
And I think that's it for today!
Blessings to you and yours, today and always,
Kate.
Rev. Kate Jones Two Rivers Pastoral Charge (506) 757-2201 (office) (506) 343-1307 (mobile) www.tworiverspastoralcharge.com Pronouns: she/her/hers "Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?"
Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "You must love your neighbour as you love yourself."
(Matthew 22:36-39)