Please watch Moderator Carmen Lansdowne’s YOUTUBE message by selecting the link below.
Minute for Mission
Published On: January 9, 2025.
This Week’s Minute for Mission Support youth as they inspire communities and engage in leadership. “I want The United Church of Canada to continue the policies as well as the vision and the actions that make our slogan ‘Bold Discipleship, Daring Justice, and Deep Spirituality’ truly mean something.”
These are words from Matthew Tyhurst, one of The United Church of Canada’s Youth Forum Leadership Animators. More of Matthew’s thoughts on the United Church’s Centennial can be found on YouTube.
In July 2024, Matthew was one of eight passionate youth from across Canada who gathered in Calgary. Together, they worked to lay the foundation for 100 young people under the age of 30 to attend The United Church of Canada’s General Council 45 in 2025, coinciding with the church’s Centennial commemorations. The group of talented and diverse youth are committed to developing leadership among their peers. After their time in Calgary, they returned to their local communities and regions to work on learning goals and projects for four weeks but remain engaged throughout the year. The group focused on building leadership and guiding their peers as they explore their roles in the church. Their placements in local and regional communities are designed to help them grow and prepare for the future.
Your gifts to Mission and Service support youth as they inspire communities and engage in leadership. Thank you.
Refugee Project
Nov 17, 2022
As we watch with disbelief a war waging in the Ukraine and over 600,000 being displaced in under one week fleeing the bombs, we appreciate the greater need that exists to welcome refugees. Our faith calls us to respond and through this ministry, we try to answer this call. Our Lenten Project for this year was our St. Paul’s Refugee Campaign, to raise funds for our work with refugees. As you know, we are working with St. Mark’s Anglican/Lutheran Church to sponsor a family from Syria who just last week arrived here in Canada. We are also working with a local Afghani family in co–sponsoring six members of their family who have fled Afghanistan and the have now arrived. With the invasion of Ukraine, we know that there are now many more refugees who have fled their homes and we have no idea if they will be able to safely return to their own country or not.
To donate to our Refugee fund, please make your cheque payable to St. Paul’s United Church and clearly mark on the memo line of the cheque that is for the Refugee Fund. If you are making an e–transfer or donation online through our website, then please indicate that it is for this fund. Thank you
Scott Warnock, Executive Director of the Huronia Community Foundation, presents a cheque for $2,000 to Ken Woods, of St. Paul’s Refugee Committee.
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St. Paul’s United Church in Midland is in the process of sponsoring a family from Afganistan, and is also assisting St. Mark’s Anglican – Lutheran church as they are sponsoring a family from Syria.
St. Paul’s has a long history of sponsoring refugees going back to the 70s with the sponsorship of a family fleeing Vietnam after the war.
All funds raised will be used to cover the costs of supporting the refugee families once they arrive in Canada, for the sponsorship period of 12 months.
Refugee Programs
We asked Rev Martin Giebel, from St. Mark’s, for an update on the Ismail and Maghrebi families which is included here.
The Ismail family (from Syria): all the children are in school, enjoying it and making progress both in English and academically. The father is employed. Regarding the son who is still in Germany, his application is now at the Vienna visa office – it’s progressing.
The Maghrebi family (from the Ukraine): everyone doing well. They are now in their own apartment.
The Maghrebi family are in touch with the Ismail family and Rev. Martin visits both regularly. The two mothers, Jihan and Svitlana, are forming a friendship even though both hardly speak any English – they ‘understand’ each other.
Everyone takes ESL lessons. Rev Martin is trying to establish in-person ESL in Midland.
We have a Travel Date for the family from Afghanistan; for now, it is for late October (no names and dates are included for their safety). We are making efforts to bring them to Canada as soon as possible as the situation where they are is very dangerous; we are very concerned.
We are all grateful for the safe arrival of all refugees; please pray for those who are still waiting to travel to Canada, and safety.
This family has arrived and more information will be forth coming.
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