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SASS Weekly Newsletter - June 15 2020
by Pastor Martin

SASS Weekly Newsletter

June 15 2020

 

 

Do you have a key and security code for SASS?

 

The Board would like to double check their records in order to ensure the information we have on file for COVID-19 contact tracing is accurate, so PLEASE email Rick Zimmer, rzimmer@rickzim.com, your details.

 

 

June 14 2020 :– Sunday Worship

What a joy it was to have Todd Wiebe back at SASS. Todd decided to connect this first week of “Ordinary Time” back to last week’s sermon from Trinity Sunday. As such his text for this week was Ephesians 4:1-6.

 

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

 

Todd highlighted that Ephesians 4 MUST be read in the context, or better yet from the perspective, of Ephesians 1-3. From the theological heights of establishing the awesomeness and indescribableness of God, NOW live your life in that light. As such Todd encouraged us to see the good in people, because they are made in the image of God. Don’t start with what is wrong with people, what is bad about them, start with what you see in them that is life giving. He also encouraged us to live our lives future focused, in the sense of Ephesians 1:10, to live believing and trusting that God is at work bringing about the mystery of His good will – “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”[1] Finally Todd also challenged us to not divide the world in to “sacred” and “secular,” in the sense of don’t see the secular as bad. It’s not, it’s just life. After all, do we believe the words of Paul, in Ephesians 4:6 …

 

God is the Father of ALL, He is also over ALL, and through ALL, and in ALL.

 

Amen brother, Amen.

 

 

In response to the message one congregant emailed and encouraged me to check out the documentary on “Inside the Vatican” I haven’t watched it yet so can’t comment but thought it might be worth circulating it for us to discuss / comment on. So just click on the link.

 

 

Check out the podcasts Todd is working on with some others – “Rector’s Cupboard”

 

Conversations about Hopeful Faith, Hopeful Theology.

 

What we think of the future so often determines our present. Both in religious circles and in society as a whole it I can be tempting to feel rather hopeless about the future. For us, Christian Faith is hopeful, even though many expressions of Christianity have been far less than this. The Rector's Cupboard looks at why Christian expression has been so often marked with fear and judgment instead of hope and welcome. What might it mean to seek a more hopeful faith and life?

Just click on the image above to access the podcasts online.

 

 

If you missed our recent Worship Service then why not catch up by watching it on YouTube. Recordings of the online services are available on our SASS YOUTUBE channel. Simply search on YouTube for “SASS Presbyterian” or click on the link on our church homepage.

 

“Join the movement of the Early Church in June”

 

I hope you are continuing to spend 20 minutes each day reading and meditating on Luke’s 2nd volume of his writings, the Acts of the Apostles. I have included the reading plan for this upcoming week, for your reference.

 

Day

Passage

15-Jun

Acts 15

16-Jun

Acts 16

17-Jun

Acts 17

18-Jun

Acts 18

19-Jun

Acts 19:1-22

20-Jun

Acts 19:23-20:12

21-Jun

Acts 20:13-38

 

 


 

Competition Time

 

Last week’s competition was to name the 12 movie titles.

 

Answers :-

  1. Cannonball Run
  2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
  3. The Nutty Professor
  4. The French Connection
  5. Rambo
  6. Kill Bill
  7. Dukes of Hazard
  8. Monsters’ Ball
  9. Romancing the Stone
  10. Moulin Rouge
  11. Raising Arizona
  12. Tango and Cash

 

Congratulations to the WKs. That’s two wins for you lot. Keep your entries coming.

 

This week’s competition

BIBLE FACTS

 

Do you know your Bible? Try answering these 10 simple questions. Do NOT use GOOGLE or similar search engine. The Spirit sees your every move! Just answer based on your current knowledge.

 

Email me your answers – pastormbaxter@gmail.com

  1. Which book do you find the quote "God never gives you more than you can handle"?
  2. Samson struck down 1000 men with this item?
  3. Who was the longest reigning king over Judah?
  4. What connects Elijah and Enoch?
  5. Who cut Samson’s hair?
  6. How long did the oldest man on record live in the Bible?
  7. Which book of the Bible do most scholars believe was written first?
  8. Which is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the word “God”?
  9. Which woman is mentioned most in Scripture?
  10. How many times does the phrase “Fear not” show up in Scripture?

To try and create some level of fairness all entries will be saved by the quizmaster and a winner will be drawn at random.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday Morning Bible Study

 

This coming Thursday – June 18th will be the FINAL Bible Study until September.

 

This week’s Thursday Morning Bible Study, will be using ZOOM, 10-11:30am.

 

Despite the fact that Camp Douglas will not be running their usual camps this summer Pastor Daniel will be over there a couple of weeks to do some work on the property and help record some promotional videos. As such, including some vacation time, Pastor Daniel will not be at SASS from June 24th until August 10th.

 

 

Let’s PRAY TOGETHER

 

On Sunday, Pastor Daniel led us in prayer and what a blessing. I’m sure you will agree. So I have included sections of that prayer for your use this coming week.

 

Thank you, Lord, because you are a loving, faithful and compassionate God

You forgive us and always gives us another chance

You guide us, and heal us and amend our ways with your loving kindness

We declare that you are the one who sustains our world

our exitance and our lives.

Loving God, we depend on you

Jesus Christ Prince of Peace, Heal your World

 

We pray for the civil unrest today in North America 

and in many places in the world because of injustices and racial discrimination

We pray for the African American community

We pray for black people in Canada and the first world

We pray for the Asian community in North America 

We pray for the immigrant workers in the first world and all the people

who have suffered mistreatment because of the colour of their skin, 

their accent or country of origin.

 

Just God, give justice to the oppressed 

Righteous God, give your church courage not to stay indifferent to the pain of many

Holy God, provide the authorities with wisdom to listen, to understand 

and to fix the social issues that have caused so much pain, anger and death

 

We pray for the people protesting that they do it peacefully

We pray that they are heard. 

Holy God,

We pray for the leaders of our countries 

give them wisdom, compassion and understanding

Teach them, teach us to listen with your compassion

We pray for your church

Let your church be a light during this situation 

Give us the courage to speak truth to power

 

Holy God, We pray for the police

We pray that you provide wisdom and compassion to the authorities 

to bring the changes necessary to heal the relations and interactions

between the police and their communities

We pray for the victims of police brutality

We pray for the people who serve as police officers who sometimes also have suffered violence 

We pray for the police officers who have a good heart 

and see what is happening today with pain. 

We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in the police force

Bless them and protect them, let them be light in the midst of darkness 

Jesus Christ Prince of Peace, Heal your World

 

We pray for your church in the world

We pray for our congregation here on the north shore

for our families, children, young people and elders

Even though we cannot be physically together 

May we always know that we are your people

that that we are part of this faith community

that we are not alone

that we have each other and you are with us

Holy Spirit be active in your church, 

comforting encouraging and guiding us through this time

Loving Counselor,

In this time of crisis strengthen our faith our love for one another

and our sense of being God's community of faith

to bless the world and preach your word

Jesus Christ Prince of Peace, Heal your World

 

Amen!

 

This week we also want to remember in our prayers, David Ballentine. David’s MS has gotten progressively worse and he is struggling to stand now. He continues to wait for a kidney transplant, and so we want to uphold him this week.

Also, Lorne Dennis. Lorne had dental surgery recently which took a lot out of him. He, like David, is struggling to get around these days. So many of our older members are suffering due to the lockdown. Their energy levels and ability to do as much as they used to has decreased dramatically and so we ask for the Great Comforter to lift them and bless them in their struggles.

Don Campbell has dealt with so much recently and yet Don wants to express his gratitude for the prayers of his church family. God bless you Don.

 

Don’t forget, in order for us to pray and give thanks for each other we all need to share what’s going on in our lives. Send your prayer concerns, requests, stories by emailing prayer@sasspc.bc.ca

 

 

 

Anyone entering SASS must sign-in / sign-out

 

Following Dr. Henry’s guidance we have started to use a “log book” in order to help with contact tracing in the event that someone at SASS contracts the coronavirus. Anyone entering the building at any time MUST sign in / sign out so that we can maintain this log book for the foreseeable future. The ONLY entry point into our building will be the main door from the car park. If you would like to speak with someone in the office please arrange an appointment with them in advance. The external office door will be closed until further notice. Access to the offices will only be through the hallway door.

 

More details on the SASS Safety Plan will be communicated in the next few weeks.

 

 

Church Finances

There are a number of ways to continue supporting SASS during this pandemic.

 

Send a cheque to the church office, or you can drop your offering in to the secure letterbox attached to the Chesterfield Ave entrance door. This letterbox is checked and emptied every week day.

 

If you have a PAYPAL account - Go to our church homepage and scroll down and click on “DONATE NOW”. 

 

Using a credit card, or paypal you can donate to SASS through CanadaHelps.  Click on the following link to our donation form.

 

Sandi Romain can setup up for PAR (Pre-Authorised Remittance). This is a monthly direct debit from your bank account. Go to sasspc.bc.ca for more details. You need to download & complete the PAR authorisation and mail it directly to Sandi with a VOID CHEQUE. Sandi’s contact details are as follows :-

SANDI ROMAIN, 2208 Sorrento Drive, Coquitlam, BC V3K 6H5

604-931-6695, romainsandi@hotmail.com

 

Thank you for continuing to support the life and ministry at SASS.

 

 

 

 

 

  Worship Service information

We continue to hold our Sunday worship services online, via ZOOM. The link to all SASS meetings and worship services is easily accessible. Just go to our homepage – sasspc.bc.ca and scroll down and click on the following graphic. The password to access our ZOOM meetings will be “sass” – lowercase, no quotes.

 

The ZOOM Meeting ID for our SASS worship services is – 795 930 7120

 

If you DO NOT have access to a computer / internet then you can phone in and listen to any SASS meeting / service using the above meeting ID.

  1. Dial 778 907 2071
  2. When prompted enter the Meeting ID: 795 930 7120, followed by #.
  3. You will be asked for a participant ID - just hit the # key.
  4. When prompted enter the password: 676824

 

PLEASE REMEMBER on Sundays to check that your MIC is muted and that your video is disabled / turned off, to limit bandwidth usage and potential on-screen distractions.

If you dial in using your phone please MUTE your phone, if that option is available.

 

If you are having any difficulty

connecting to our ZOOM services

please let me know.

 

 

 

What a blessing!

 

Recently recordings of songs are being done all over the globe to provide a blessing to many.

 

One congregant emailed this one to me due to today’s worship, and it is AWESOME! Click on the YouTube link to access

 

Thanks!

Pastor Martin’s Musings

“The return of the PGA … finally!”

 

Sports are slowly but surely coming back. The Premiership begins the final leg of its season on June 17th. All being well the Reds will win their first Premiership by getting the two wins they need to secure the title, rather than earning the title by default, due to COVID-19. I have been a die-hard Liverpool fan since I could say “Kenny Dalglish.” But the sport that I have been most looking forward to seeing again on the TV is the PGA – Golf! I could watch golf all day, every day. 91 days have passed since the completion of the 1st round of the Players and then the PGA went into shutdown. 13 weeks of no golf. That is almost as bad as having no in-person worship services for the same period of time – right?

 

But this past Thursday, June 11th, the PGA tee’d off again at the Charles Schwarb Challenge in Fort Worth, TX. Rory is back – hallelujah. But things are different, and I am not referring to the extra 20 pounds Bryson is now carrying. There are no fans on the course. No grandstands, no “get in the hole”, no handshakes at the end. Things are not as they seem after all. The PGA is back but not fully back. Or maybe it is fully back but just not back the way it used to be.

 

Isn’t it strange how we get so used to the way things were that when the new way comes around, and it is ever so slightly different, it seems odd. But that’s life, isn’t it. Things happen that changes our situations and the new norm is never going to be like the old norm. At first we don’t like it, because it just seems so foreign, but eventually we get used to it. Eventually we learn to adapt and cope.

 

I’m not too sure what my new norm is going to look like this summer when my mum goes back to the UK after being here through these strange times. But I take comfort in the fact that I will be able to adapt and learn to cope with whatever my new norm is.

 

But my NEW norm will never be like my OLD norm. It can’t be!

 

For a lot of us we would love things to just go back to the way they used to be, the way they always were, before COVID-19. Through this pandemic experts have been saying that the new norm will have to be different for all of us for some time to come due to the fact that this virus is just not going to disappear overnight. I don’t think any of us really wanted a new norm when we heard them say that. I think we all raised our resistance and said to ourselves “it will go back to normal, someday, sooner rather than later, but normal will return.”

 

And then “George Floyd” happened, and the old normal was forever to be the old way never to return, God help us. People around the globe are protesting, and the major message that seems to be heard is “BLM.” I think the cry that really needs to be raised worldwide is the cry of the Gospel – “justice.”

 

Biblical justice is quite simply that people would live in right relationships with each other, with God and with the Creation. It is not a cry that the bad guys get what they deserve. Because if Biblical justice was that we would all have to get what we deserve. We would all have to face the judge and hear condemnation and a guilty verdict being issued to us. We would all have to face the punishment for our failings. But Biblical justice is a much bigger theme that does not end with us getting what we deserve. It includes God declaring the verdict on all of us and then He himself takes that verdict upon himself so that we don’t have to, so that we can become in right-relationship with him and with each other again.

 

The new way is completely different from the old way, and we benefit from that.

Whatever the new norm is going to look like in every town, city, province, nation, or country around the globe post COVID-19, I pray that it is more in line with the deep need and desire for true justice to reign supreme in the midst of all peoples. For that to happen it is not about anyone, any people, claiming their rights over and against any others. No! For justice to reign all people need to have the attitude of Jesus and humble themselves before him and each other realising that in Him is where we find the new norm, a better norm, the true norm.

 

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! 

 

Amen. [2]

 

God bless,

Pastor Martin

 


pastormbaxter@gmail.com


Direct Line in Church Office – 604 770 1025

 

www.sasspc.bc.ca



[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Eph 1:10.

[2] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Eph 3:20–21.