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SASS Weekly Newsletter - July 18 2020
by Pastor Martin

SASS Weekly Newsletter

July 18 2020

 

2020 Summer Sermon Series

From July 5 to Sept 6, 2020, we are going through a series entitled “Questions Jesus asked.”

 

On July 5th we started with “which is lawful on a Sabbath, to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

 

On July 12th we looked at a question posed by Jesus in the middle of Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Mount: “can the blind lead the blind?”

 

Of course the answers to both questions above are obvious: always do good, and the blind can indeed lead the blind.

 

What we discovered about doing good is that Jesus is not assuming we do good to ourselves. The goodness is always focused on the other. Last week I challenged us to come up with ways of accomplishing that in these strange times and sharing our ideas with each other. Did you do good these past two weeks?

 

“Can the blind lead the blind?” Yes, but what we need to ask is where will the blind lead other blind people? Answer, wherever the blind leader leads. So how do we ensure we are not those blind leaders? Answer, ensure we are not blind. How? I am going to assume we all know the answer to that question as well: following Jesus. But of course that raises loads more questions about how do we know we are actually following Jesus?

 

As previously noted Jesus’ question about leading the blind comes in the middle of His sermon on the mount, according to Luke. What if we took the sermon, the longer version, the one in Matthew 5-7 and used that as our daily devotionals for the rest of the summer. I wonder if we did that what might God reveal to us? What is God challenging you about this summer? Where have you been blind but God is raising your eyes, your understanding, your life to not merely follow Him better, but to lead others to the only Life-giver?

 

I have invited Pastor Todd Wiebe and Rev. Dr. Ross Lockhart to lead us for the next two weeks, and it will give us an opportunity to touch base with both of them about their ongoing work with the Rector’s Cupboard and St. Andrew’s Hall, respectively.

 

Todd will be dealing with Jesus’ question to the disciples “who do you say I am?” and Ross will be preaching on July 26, looking at “who is your neighbour?”

 

Don’t forget, Jesus’ questions will penetrate our hearts if we allow Him to.

 

If you did not get a chance to join in the worship time on Sunday please watch the recording of the service on our YouTube channel, which you can access through our homepage, www.sasspc.bc.ca, or by simple searching for “SASS Presbyterian” on YouTube.

 

 

Take note – I am not intending to do a weekly newsletter through July and August, but will drop one now and again into our e-mailboxes just to keep us as connected as possible through this summer season.

 

 

 

Competition Time

 

Last week’s answers …

 

  1. "Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water." - Daniel
  2. "perhaps you were made queen for such a time as this?" - Mordecai
  3. "For everything there is a season" - Solomon
  4. "If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant." - Paul
  5. "With the Lord's help, I have produced a man!" - Eve
  6. "I'm too much of a sinner to be around you." - Peter
  7. "Lord, please! Send anyone else." - Moses
  8. "Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live I will live." - Ruth
  9. "give me a son, then I will give him back to you." - Hannah
  10. "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown" - Jesus
  11. "The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me" - David
  12. "You intended me harm, but God intended it all for good." - Joseph

 

Last week’s winner is LORI McPHAIL, simply because she made me smile when I read her answer to #3. Who knew “Paul McCartney” was in the Bible? I think he is actually famous for saying “all you need is love.” AMEN!

 

 

 

 

This week’s quiz …

 

“How well do you know your SASS elders?”

 

 

I asked our elders to give me one “interesting” fact about themselves. Can you guess who’s who …

 

 

  1. This elder used to be fluent in semaphone
  2. This elder played the Oboe in school
  3. This elder has not mowed the lawn in 25 years
  4. This elder once was the voice of the clucking Cadbury Easter Crème Bunny
  5. This elder was the 1982 South Western Ontario Trivial Pursuit champion
  6. This elder’s teenage nick-name was Nose
  7. This elder went to an Elvis convention for their 19th birthday (sort of)
  8. This elder speaks “sotho”
  9. This elder was a valedictorian

10.This elder was an extra in a movie starring John Travolta

11.This elder used to herd cows on a ranch in Alberta

12.This elder used to ride a dirt bike with friends

13.This elder was born in S. Yemen.

14.This elder has just recently understood what their pastor means by “Sam’s”

Elders : Winnie Bradford, Jane Calland, John Edmonds, Colleen Finlayson, Graham Finlayson (clerk), Paul Goddard, Alan Hartley, David Jennings, Liz Lilley, Laura Lockhart, Nicole Pringle, Dan Rausch, Ev Romain, Bill Todd, Nicola Walton-Knight, and Margaret Williams. 

 

Email your answers to pastormbaxter@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WELCOME TO

CAMP DOUGLAS’ VIRTUAL CAMP

2020

 

 

To access the materials, go to …

https://campdouglas.virtual-camp.org

Scroll & click on the week you would like to access. Then select the activity and follow the prompt to login, using the following info …

username - CampDouglas2020
password - Camp Douglas 2020

 

SASS Congregational Survey

“What might the Fall 2020 look like for us?”

 

The Session want to hear from you, in order to determine if we are going to have small in-person worship gatherings, prior to the provincial directive on mass gatherings being cancelled.

 

Thank you to those of you who responded to the survey. If you haven’t done so already PLEASE complete the survey now. I included it in the email used to circulate this newsletter.

 

Bless you and thanks.

 

 

Recently I had a chance to discuss what, if anything, has RightNow Media done to potentially assist congregations to better connect and continue ministry during these times.

 

A couple of things are worth noting.

 

If you have used RightNow Media you will know that SASS has its own library, which Daniel and I, as administrators, should do better in managing, by adding resource material for ease of access. Within the SASS library we can create “channels” just as you would get on your TVs. Right now we have a channel specifically containing Bible Study materials for small groups, and we have a marriage support channel. I hope to revamp these channels later this summer.

 

I have created a new “SASS Sermon” channel. After uploading our service recordings to YouTube we now have the ability to embed those videos directly into our RightNow Media library for anyone with access to our SASS library to watch. This will allow us the opportunity to link extra resource material to the sermons.

 

I thought that was a neat addition but then I was shown this …

 

During these times it is difficult for small groups to “meet” and if you do it is hard to get resource material for you to do together. RightNow Media has a solution for you. What if you held an online small group via ZOOM and after greeting one another you decided to watch a Bible Study, or other resource, together. If you access a resource on RightNow Media you can click on a session to watch and they have added a button – “Watch as a Virtual Group.”

 

If the small group leader clicks on that they will be able to email a link around to the rest of the group who will then all login to RightNow Media to access the virtual desktop. When everyone is ready the host can then start the resource and you can all watch it together.

 

I am going to test this myself very soon but I would encourage small group leaders to give it a go. I believe you can chat online during the resource. Obviously you will still need to use ZOOM afterwards to discuss the resource etc, but this will allow small groups to access and use a plethora of resources while trying to keep us as connected as possible.

 

One last thing, if you have never accessed the SASS RightNow Media library you can go to this link to register - https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Account/Invite/sasspc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer

 

St. Andrew’s & St. Stephen’s is a “community of faith”, a fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s continue to uphold our family members who are struggling with their health during these days. I encourage you to uphold each of them every day but let’s focus our hearts and prayers this week as follows :-

 

Monday – Since the pandemic started we have lost three members in our congregation: Muriel Dionne, Doug Claydon and Elsie Lundquist. Let’s keep their families in our prayers, in particular Gary Dionne and Eileen Claydon.

 

Tuesday – Those with long term difficulties - Jean & Alan Bone, Margaret Williams, and David Ballentine.

 

Wednesday – Those with long term difficulties - Liz Lilley, Lorne Dennis, Joanne Graham, Jim Hall and Dean Scott

 

Thursday – Don Campbell, Kel Kejser, Penny McDonald, and David Forrest.

 

Friday – The missions we support on an ongoing basis – Mo & Wes Blackmon, Servants’ Anonymous, Inner Hope, YUGO Ministries, OMF, Camp Douglas, Cariboo Presbyterian Church, and our World Vision children.

 

Saturday - Let’s pray for the health care workers who are on the frontline fighting this pandemic. Let’s uphold the many many people who have had their lives turned upside down because of this virus: those who have been laid off and are applying for EI, those who are anxious about their financial situation, those feeling the stress of what the Fall is going to look like for their children, and those gripped by fear.

 

Sunday – Let’s pray for the SASS leadership team, both the Session and the Board, as we continue to navigate these times, and are discerning what the Fall may look like for us.

 

During these strange times we want to pray for you. So we have created a new prayer email account. Send your prayer request to prayer@sasspc.bc.ca

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the podcasts Pastor Todd Wiebe is working on with some others :–

 

“Rector’s Cupboard”

 

https://rectorscupboard.podbean.com/

 

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?

 

Recently they did a three part series entitled “2020: Annus Horribilis”

  1. June 19 2020 – American Apocalypse – with Matthew Avery Sutton
  2. June 26 2020 – The Power Worshippers – with Katherine Stewart
  3. July 3 2020 – Christianity and White Supremacy – with Dr. Willie Jennings

 

SASS 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.

 

 

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.