Fall 2014

Connect with Us!

21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies


1 | Fall 2014

stjohnsarva.ca /stjohnsarva @saintjohnsarva

one of my favourite times of the year! I guess the combination of the hope of new beginnings (a new
school year to be sure) and more order and structure to the day plays a large role in this. (Okay and if I
am being honest, my birthday falls in September too!!!)
Summer around the parish was rather peaceful and longer days were
accompanied by beautiful sunsets. We find ourselves heading into
September with the memories of fresh watermelon and delicious corn-on-
the-cob.
This fall, for me, is going to unfold in a rather different manner. As many
of you know my stepson James needs a kidney. He and his brother have a
genetic disorder called Alports Syndrome, and James has been on dialysis
for approximately a year. His body is not responding well to the dialysis
and it has compromised his life a great deal.
On a whim last winter I had my blood type tested and to my great surprise,
was a match. After a series of tests (over 75 vials of blood taken to date!) I
am scheduled to donate my left kidney to James on September 3
rd
.
It is amazing how God works in our lives. I remember John telling me
shortly after we were married that he knew I would be a great support as
he walked through this disease with his two boys. Little did either of us
know that that walk would be towards donation.
It is a great privilege but also rather scary to donate. But, I know that our
Lord travels with both James and myself and will
comfort us throughout this process. At every turn I
have been fortunate to experience Gods grace and I
am so incredibly thankful for it.
Rev. Kate has graciously accepted to fill in while I am
away and I know that she will provide our parish family
with great support and awesome sermons!
Fall is...

Welcome Back Service
& Potluck Luncheon
Sun Sept 14
th
at 10:30 am

Parish Council Meeting
Wed Sept 17
th
at 7:00 pm
Community Breakfast
Sun Sept 21
st
at 9:30 am

Anglican Fellowship of Prayer
Conference
Sat Oct 4
th
at 9:00 am

Stop Stressing! Count Your
Blessings Workshop
Tues Oct 7
th
at TBA
Facilitated by Dr. Ian Nicholson

Visioning Day
Sat Oct 18
th
at 8:00 am
Facilitated by Paul Townshend











Fall 2014




Connect with Us!
21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies


2 | Fall 2014

stjohnsarva.ca /stjohnsarva @saintjohnsarva

Gaelic Prayer
May God give us light to guide us,
Courage to support us,
And love to unite us,
Now and evermore.


In Our Community
Rev. Kate and I were talking about the state of the church, organized religion, and the
decline of faith communities as individuals search for meaning in other ways. Kate,
who is a voracious reader, brought to my attention a little book entitled Buddhist
Bootcamp. Wow, it knocked my socks off!
Buddhism is not a religion in that it excludes other religious traditions,
but rather is a way of life. Some scholars believe Jesus studied Buddhism in
his early years and many of his sayings have Buddhist roots.
All I know is that this book calls us to live in the now, simplify our lives and invest in our relationships. I
believe Jesus called us to do the same things!! We are toying with how to incorporate some of these
teachings with our Christian teachings, specifically the meditative aspect of this book: rooted in our
Christian teachings and yet open to Eastern influence.
Thank you for all you do to make St. Johns such a loving community.










In Christ,
Rev. Wendy Mencel
Rector




Sunday, August 10
th
~ Decoration Day
with Cemetery Director, Margaret McCullough & Mark
Spring/Summer Weddings
Saturday, May 31
st

Our Parish Administrator Rose with Rev. Wendy
& Canon Dr. Kevin George

Saturday, July 12
th

Emma Squires-Smith, Jo Kains & Rev. Wendy






Remember Our Christmas Bazaar...
when canning your veggies this Fall!







Fall 2014




Connect with Us!
21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies


3 | Fall 2014

stjohnsarva.ca /stjohnsarva @saintjohnsarva

KIDS SUMMER CAMP
MURIEL VINCENT
What a great week we had at Kingdom Rock summer camp this year, which
was held from July 7
th
- 11
th
! Through Bible stories, science, fun, music and
outdoor games, our 20 campers learned about 'standing strong for God'
and how to apply this to their daily lives. Our summer camp at St. John's
also incorporates 'reaching out' to the world beyond our own doorstep: this
year we raised $172.00 for PWRDF's School Lunches for Haiti program.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make our 2014
summer camp a great success! Thank you to Cindy Nicholson for her leadership and planning, Sanya Prentice and Nancy
Davis for all their help and support, and to our youth volunteers, Olivia and Abby Murray, Katie Olson-Lamari and Lexi
McConnell who were great leaders and rolemodels for our young children.
Thank you also to those who donated money, snack items, fruit and juices, and to all who served to make this a great
week for everyone. Truly, God's Kingdom Rocks!
EMBRACING A LIFE OF MEANING: FIVE WEEK VIDEO
DISCUSSION STUDY
SUNDAYS AT 9 AM ~ SEPTEMBER 21ST, SEPTEMBER 28TH, OCTOBER 5TH, OCTOBER 12TH & OCTOBER 19TH
Kathleen Norris leads us through a series of 10-15 minute video presentations followed by group
discussion. We will explore:
Why does belief matter?
To what do we give our hearts?
Can Biblical teachings be of benefit in our daily lives?
What does it mean to remain in God's image?
As with all our studies, conversation is encouraged and divergent paths of conversation always welcome. Facilitated by
Rev. Wendy Mencel & Paul Townshend. Sign up on the sheet in the hallway.
Announcements







Fall 2014




Connect with Us!
21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies


4 | Fall 2014

stjohnsarva.ca /stjohnsarva @saintjohnsarva

VISIONING MORNING
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18
TH
~ 8:00 AM
We encourage you to join us for our Visioning Morning! Be a part of the future of St. Johns. We will be revitalizing our
Mission Statement and focusing on updating our Strategic Plan for the coming year.
Goal setting will address areas such as:
Care and upkeep of the church
Engaging children, youth and young adults
Supporting clergy and lay leaders
Fundraising
Creating our future
The morning is an opportunity for us to bring our ideas together and discern God's path for the future. For more
information, contact Paul Townshend 519-433-5406 or petown@live.ca
INTERIM OFFERINGS
If you would like to receive an interim report of your offerings, at any time in the year, please contact
our Envelope Secretary, Doug Gould 519-672-3876 or rdouglasgould@yahoo.ca
WELCOMING BACK & LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
PAUL TOWNSHEND
Summertime and its more casual agenda are quickly coming to a close. We hope everyone has had a chance to enjoy
the greater flexibility of holiday time as well as opportunities to reconnect with family and friends. We are all heading
back into our regular routines as fall approaches. This of course includes getting back into our church routine and
thinking about the meaning of our Christian Community at St. Johns Arva.
Many Churches are wondering what their place is in todays Post-Christian era. Not long ago, Christian traditions,
customs and teachings were an integral part of greater society. Most things in society were done in a Christian way.
Stewardship Update
A Friendly Reminder







Fall 2014




Connect with Us!
21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies


5 | Fall 2014

stjohnsarva.ca /stjohnsarva @saintjohnsarva

This is not so today. Now, we share our society with people of numerous religions and of
no religion. There are people who are inquisitive about Christianity, those who are
tolerant of Christianity and those who are working actively against Christianity.
In the past, Anglican church congregations were regularly supplied by the ongoing
immigration of people familiar with Anglican traditions and the Christian way of life,
whereas today, we have immigration from many different areas of the world. This
certainly enriches and broadens our current society, but there are also fewer people
familiar with the Christian way of life.
There are also many people who participated in our churches as youngsters with their parents, but through adolescence
and the pressures of todays society have drifted away. On the converse, societys obsession with consumerism has left
many people seeking greater meaning in their lives a meaning they are able to achieve through finding a church
community. Consumerism tells us that we always need to buy the newest, biggest or best of the latest fad in order to be
truly fulfilled, but in the end, it always rings hollow.
Our challenge as a Christian community at St. Johns Arva is to find ways of demonstrating to others the benefits of
living a Christian life:
Why is it worthwhile to believe in God and follow the teachings of Jesus?
Why does it make a difference to us?
Why would it make a difference for others who are not familiar with Jesus?
It is important for us to wrestle with these questions. We need to become comfortable
talking about our faith, so we can explain to others how belief in God provides fulfillment and meaning through our
relationship with Jesus.
Lets look to the future! Lets look for new ways to help people find meaning within our Christian Community, greater
society and life, in general.











Fall 2014




Connect with Us!
21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies


6 | Fall 2014

stjohnsarva.ca /stjohnsarva @saintjohnsarva































Fall 2014




Connect with Us!
21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies


7 | Fall 2014

stjohnsarva.ca /stjohnsarva @saintjohnsarva