Announcements

Soup & Chili Lunch

Sign Up on Bulletin Board. If you can help with Soup, Chili, Buns and/or Butter.

Thank you to everyone who came out and participated in our Annual Vestry Meeting. A special thank you to Justine for once again acting as our Vestry Clerk and a huge thank you to Lindsey for doing
the challenging job of wrangling in all the Vestry Reports! (Like herding cats!).

Our Parish Council for the upcoming year are:

• Ray Elder – Rector’s Warden
• Barbara Sainty – People’s Warden
• Kari Vanderzee – Deputy Rector’s Warden
• Kelly Twerdy – Deputy People’s Warden and Treasurer
• Synod Council Reps – Beth Kerley and Byron Nicholson and Barbara Forder as Alternate

Parish Council Members

• Don Alsop
• Carrie Adewumi
• Karen Perry
• Lynne Mawson

A warm welcome to Kari as Deputy Rector’s Warden and Lynne Mawson as Parish Council Member!

There was a discussion about empowering the Corporation to sign lease agreements with groups who have a lease of less then 3 years or 3 years or more. All of our lease agreements are for less then 3 years so the only motion necessary was the one that was made. Please see the Vestry Meeting Minutes for any other information.
Blessings,
Sheila

As an update and more accurate count of the number of people fed by Church of the Transfiguration in 2024: Community Meal Kits – 10,000 individuals. Brock Supper and Frozen Meal Program – 250 individuals. Community Breakfast Program – 2000 individuals. That’s a total of 12,250 people! Thank you everyone for your generous support of time, talent and treasure to feed the hungry.

Please join us for our Lenten Lunches held March 9th following the 10:30 service. Free will donation to PWRDF. Sign up on the PWRDF board to bring soup, chili, or buns. All helpful hands are appreciated. Talk to Kelly for more details.

In honour of Valentine’s Day, we are collecting socks for the patrons of the Breakfast Programme. Warm feet, warm hearts, new socks will make someone’s day.

Sunday February 23 following the 10:00 a.m. Service.

Tax donation receipts for 2024 will be ready soon. This year all receipts will be emailed to the email address we have on file. If your email address has changed recently, please contact the office. Emailing is our preferred method to help keep costs down, but if you would like a paper copy, please contact the office.

Sunday, February 16 at 2 pm, we will have our first planning meeting for VBS. All who are interested in helping in any way are invited to join us.

Hello friends, once again, Eleanor and I will walk in the CNOY fundraiser on Feb. 22 to help the homeless in our community. I thank you for your generosity in the past and hope you will continue to support this endeavour. This year we are officially walking with friends Ed and Isa as a team, the Cold Quartet. You can find our donation pages here:
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=5463778&langPref=en-CA
and here
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=5463831&langPref=en-CA
Thanks again Wayne & Eleanor

You’re invited…

RiverBrink Art Museum is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition, Gẹ ̀lẹ ̀dẹ ́ and Friends, curated by Ayo Adewumi. Join us for the Opening Reception on Saturday, February 8, 3-5 pm.

The exhibition Gẹ ̀lẹ ̀dẹ ́ and Friends is drawn from the private collection of guest curator Ayo Adewumi. Born in Nigeria, Adewumi has collected ancestral and decorative masks, carvings, and metalworks over several years. The objects included in the exhibition offer a unique glimpse into the rich artistic and cultural heritage of Nigeria.

The exhibition will be on view at RiverBrink Art Museum from February 3 – April 26, 2025. The art museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10am-5pm.

Save the date:
Curator Talk with Ayo Adewumi
Friday, February 28 | 2-3pm
Please RSVP for Gẹ ̀lẹ ̀dẹ ́ and Friends Opening Reception and/or Curator Talk to Moyu Chen at
mchen@riverbrink.org

Fellow parishioners,

I wanted to share with you an idea about a meaningful use of your $200 rebate cheque from the Ford Government.

It would be helpful and would be putting it to good use by donating it to the church. This idea has been endorsed by the Parish Council and could go a long way to help our parish family and the community we serve. While each of us might benefit individually, think of all the good works we could do if we pooled our resources.

Karen Perry and Joanne Lynagh

Flowers from Joan Costigan in Loving Memory of Jim
and from Millie Stobart in Loving Memory of Bud.

Come join the Music Ministry for our Easter Celebrations. Rehearsals start on next Thursday, Feb. 6. @ 6:00 p.m. Talk to Lindsey, our Music Director if you are interested. Everyone welcome

A Heartfelt Thank You for the Generous Donation. We are overjoyed to announce that our church has been blessed with the donation of a brand-new drum kit, generously given by Robin King, Lindsey Mills, and Kari Vanderzee. This wonderful gift will greatly enhance our worship services, allowing us to elevate our music ministry and create an even more uplifting and spirited atmosphere.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Robin, Lindsey, and Kari for their kindness and support. Their generosity is a testament to their commitment to our church community and their belief in the power of music to inspire and bring people together. This drum kit will not only serve as an instrument of rhythm and joy but also as a symbol of their love and dedication to our congregation.

Thank you once again, Robin, Lindsey, and Kari, for your incredible contribution. May this new drum kit resonate with the sounds of praise and worship for years to come.

Last Sunday I announced that I will be taking a sabbatical this year. Sabbaticals are about rest and renewal, the word comes from the Hebrew word Sabbath, the seventh day of creation when God rested. If God needs a rest now and again so too then do ministers. It’s right in the Bible!

Why?
After at least 7 years of ministry and at least 2 years in a parish, Priest’s in our Diocese are eligible to take a 2 month sabbatical. A sabbatical is a paid leave from ministry to spend time in prayerful reflection, deep rest and further their theological education through reading or taking courses. In 2017 I had been given the Bishop’s permission to take a sabbatical however health problems arose a few months before and I needed to take a few months of sick leave and so decided to defer my sabbatical, so 8 years later I’m finally taking it!

When?
The Bishop has given her assent to my sabbatical which will be for the months of May and June. Then I will be on vacation for the first 3 weeks of July. I will be taking the remainder of my vacation time in September.

What?
During my sabbatical I am looking to go on a silent retreat, and I am looking at studying Indigenous Spirituality, seeing how it can impact and enhance my own spiritual practises, seeing where our understanding of God can be broadened by seeing God through a new lens. I am also planning to spend some time resting from the work I do in ministry to recharge my batteries as it were.

How?
This sabbatical is only possible for me because of the willingness of colleagues to help cover
services, the organizational abilities of Lindsey as Parish Administrator and the support of the
corporation, parish council and all of you. For all of this I am deeply grateful. There is a grant
available from the Diocese to help cover the cost of Sunday coverage, so the financial responsibilities from the parish are negligible.

Sunday Coverage
Sundays we will have a number of clergy taking services including our own Donald Brown and Wayne
Fraser as well as Archdeacon Bill Mous and Rev. Krista Hilton, the Chaplain at Brock University. As we get closer to May I will be giving you a full schedule as to who hill be celebrating and when.

I hope this helps to answer some questions but if you have others please feel free to contact me.
Yours in Christ,
Sheila

Forward Day by Day Books are in for February, March April. $2 donation to help offset the cost.
Thank you