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[Top] Dear Friends: Welcome to another issue of “In Touch”. It has been rather busy in the parish since the last issue: the Winter BBQ and Dance was a success and a delightful evening; a new Altar Guild has been trained and an Altar Guild Guide has been produced; a new Flower Guild has been instituted; the Bible Study group tackled and wrestled with Archbishop Rowan William’s Christ on Trial during Lent; the new Deanery Youth Project started and has formed youth groups in Lachute and Arundle and helped with the new group in Ste Agathe; the youth group had an end of the year Skiing trip and also went to see the Passion of Christ; Some of our servers went to the Cathedral for the Diocesan Servers Day as well as to Youth Synod where Brittany Bertrand was elected a full member of Diocesan Youth Council; the Confirmation classes started and went one Sunday afternoon to the Old Brewery Mission where they served dinner to 360 homeless men and women and received a tour of the facility and an understanding of the causes of homelessness. The Parish observed Holy Week with thirteen services including the new service of Tenebrae and the Commemoration of the Decent to Dead; the Easter Breakfast went extremely well and was as popular as ever; the 78th Fraser Highlanders had a demonstration and dance in Church Hall; some members of the Youth Group went down to help out at Rosemere’s Teddy Bear Picnic for the children; a number of people from the parish went to hear Fr. Dale Lang at the Rawdon Elementary school speak about the murder of his son in a High School shooting and his understanding of forgiveness; the Cemetery Committee had a huge cleanup of the churchyard; and at the end of this week Alex Campbell is running a 30 hour famine for World vision in the Church Hall. The Sunday after Ascension we have three members of the parish who will be making their first communions. There will be a party for them in the rectory afterwards. Trinity Sunday is fast approaching and the cessation of regular parish activities for the summer. This summer I will do my usual week as Chaplain at Senior Camp at Quebec Lodge and I will be taking the Canadian Chapter of Youth Leaders International, which include two youth from our parish to France for a week. This issue sees the introduction of a new regular feature from the Rector’s Warden called “Twitterings”. It will consist of short one sentence updates of members of our community and extended family. Please send Verna Asbil your news to be included in the next “In Touch”. There is also an interesting reminiscence of St. John’s Kildare, and some history about Gerry and Victor Allen. There is the regular news from the Wardens, the ACW, the Altar Guild, the Flower Guild, the Stewardship Committee, and the Family Fair Committee. I hope your summer is relaxed and refreshing. Use it as a time to recharge the batteries for yet another busy church year starting in the Autumn. Edward OGS |
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Top] MEMORIES OF ST. JOHN’S KILDARE Mrs. William Parkinson of 500 8th Ave., Rawdon, who is 85 years old, is one of the few people who clearly remembers attending St. John’s Church in Kildare regularly as a child. Her father, George Purcell, of French Lake was church warden from as long as she remembers until he died. Then her brother, Ernest (Janet Rourke’s father) became warden. Services were held in the afternoons and the Purcell family went by horse and buggy or sleigh every Sunday. The horses were tied to the fence for there was no shed. Some of the families who worshipped in the church in her time were Knox, Woods, Purcells (two families), Staffords and Aumais. The ministers lived in the parsonage, not far from the church. Mrs. Parkinson (Lillian Purcell) ,was baptized by the Reverend Weaver. Then came Rev. Gagnon, Rev. Granger (she remembers their pet monkey), Rev. Dawson, (he was taller sitting than his wife was standing) . Later Rev. Dawson became principal of the school she attended in Montreal. Rev. King lived in de Ramsay. During the summer of 1909, a student minister, Walter Percival, took the services. He prepared Mrs. Parkinson and nine others for confirmation. This confirmation ceremony was conducted by Bishop Farthing on Aug. 9, 1909. It was Bishop Farthing’s first year as Bishop. Later Dr. Percival became Minister of Protestant Education in Quebec. When Mr. Naylor came to Rawdon, he took over the services in Kildare holding services every two weeks. In winter due to difficulty heating the service was held in the homes of Joe Woods or George Purcell. She remembers the rush to give the minister supper so he would be back by 7:00 to take the service in Rawdon. One stormy Christmas, Mr. Naylor went on horseback to hold the service at their home. One year when Mr. Naylor accompanied the Bishop to the Lambeth Conference, Rev. Blagrave took services. [Top] Know Someone ? If you are aware of one of our parishioners who is not receiving this newsletter, please contact me and we will be pleased to add the name and address to the mailing list. Please include the postal code if possible. Thank you Derek Morris 450-834-6912
[Top] Warden’s Report Father Edward needs to be thanked for his leadership during the Lenten and Easter season. There were 10 meaningful services held during Easter week, culmination with the Easter Vigil. There are two parishioners who deserve our sincere thanks and appreciation to the well being of Christ Church. Both served in many capacities and will always be there for us. Earle Moore retired as a Warden and Lillian Parkinson as head of the Altar Guild. Since the last “In Touch” several successful fund-raisers have taken place – the winter BBQ and dance, Shrove Tuesday card party, and the Easter Breakfast. To make these events so successful requires a great deal of effort by those responsible and we say “thank you”. Due to the lack of funds only maintenance items are being done. The only exception was a new Canon copier which was purchased to replace the old unreliable one. We must remember that if we wish to have a healthy, vibrant community we must increase our giving to the Church. While attendance is up, unfortunately our income is not keeping up to our budgeted expenses. Sadly we were unable to obtain restoration funds from the Quebec Heritage Foundation to replace the floor in the Church. We will apply again next year. In the meantime we would dearly love to at least do the Sanctuary floor and replace the old red carpet. This would probably cost $15 – 20,000.00. This is a serious commitment and one which cannot be undertaken without thought, parishioner’s approval and a viable means to raise the required funds. Your input would be much appreciated on this matter. We are looking forward to seeing many “old friends” at our upcoming Family Fair on July 10th. We are fortunate to once again have Merle Campbell and Al Parkinson co-chairing our fair and we urge you to support them in every way possible. This I our major fund raiser and it cannot succeed without you help and support. We close this report by once again reminding you that we welcome and need your input on any Church related matters. Verna Asbil-Negm Rector’s Warden 834-3256 Shirley Tinkler-Moore Peoples Warden 834-4805 Robert Ranger Deputy Warden 834-2044 This is just in…. we would like to replace the old tables in our hall. If you have any “connections” where a deal can be had please call Robert. [Top] REGISTER Deaths:
Rest eternal grant unto them O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. Amen
CALENDAR
Stewardship Committee Our church has been struggling for a few years now to meet day-to-day expenses. Regular offerings from parishioners are consistently falling short of meeting our current needs, let alone allowing our ministry and programs to grow. It is true that Christ Church is fortunate to have more investment funds than most parishes of comparable size. However, while it may be appropriate to use the interest earned from these funds to support daily needs, the Stewardship Committee strongly believes that eroding the principal balance of these funds for daily needs is not the way to go, for several reasons. We have spent some time struggling to determine the most appropriate way forward, to resolve our funding needs. In the end, we have concluded that the best thing we can try is to encourage each parishioner to examine his or her level of regular offerings, and ask: do my offerings reflect the importance of the church in my life, and have they kept pace with the church’s needs? To encourage this process, the Stewardship Committee had decided to try something new (or at least not seen for a couple of generations): to request each parishioner, after reflecting on his offerings, to decide on an appropriate amount for the future, and to “pledge” to contribute that amount. This is not a binding commitment, but we would hope that people will take the process seriously. The pledging process will receive the same level of confidentiality as your current offerings. We are working on written materials and a communication program, and we will launch this process next month. In the meantime, please feel free to address questions to any member of the Stewardship Committee. Robert Friend [Top] Rawdon Family Fair The plans are well underway for this annual event to be held July 10, 2004 (July 11 if it rains on July 10). This year we are looking at ways to simplify the set-up and improve the presentation of the various booths. The next meeting is May 30 at 7:00 p.m. in the United Church Hall. As well, we need articles for the auction which can be left in the Rectory garage or call Clifford at 834-4217 for pick up. A new attraction this year is a volleyball tournament, so get a team together and try your luck. As usual, we need volunteers the week before the Fair and the day of the Fair. If you can help in any way, or have new ideas, please let me know. PLAN TO COME WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND ENJOY A DAY AT THE FAIR. Merle Parkinson, Co-Chair 834-3535 [Top] Memorial Flowers Several years have passed since a sum of money was suggested to cover the cost of purchasing an acceptable arrangement of flowers for placing in the sanctuary in memory of a departed relative or friend. Regrettably it is now impossible to obtain a suitable arrangement which will last for one Sunday, for less than $40.00 We request that you keep this in mind when requesting the provision of flowers for placing in the Church. [Top] ACW NEWS
The
ACW . has
held four card parties since January. These
were a special Valentine party on Feb. 10, the Mid Lent one on March 17 and two
in April. Our
next Military Whist will be May 11 and May 25.
Starting June 1, to the end of October, we plan to have card parties
every Tuesday evening at 8:00 in the Parish Hall.
On Saturday, Feb. 14, we held a Valentine Luncheon and Sale, which was
very successful. We netted $550.00.
These funds were sent to an orphanage in Zimbabwe that Father Edward
helps support.
We hosted the World Day of Prayer on Friday Mar. 5. In spite of inclement weather there was a good attendance.
Three women of Panama wrote the service this year.
Ladies from the Roman Catholic, United and Anglican Churches helped plan
and participated in the bilingual service.
Mrs. Ellen Schmidt of the Mennonite Church played the organ.
Our President, Sharon Tinkler gave an interesting talk on Panama and
displayed “Molas”, pottery and baskets made by the women of Panama.
Sister Medeleine provided a wooden cross which was laid in front of the
altar rail and candles were placed on it which was an impressive symbol of our
Christian Faith. Following the service refreshments were served in the Parish
Hall. There was fried plantain and
other Panamanian food to be tasted and more beautiful molas
on display. Our sincere
appreciation to all who attended and took part in this world wide service.
We held our Spring Rummage Sale on Sat. Apr. 24. We received many donation and numerous people came to buy. We made $285.00 and what was left was picked up by the Saint Vincent de Paul ladies who hold sales in the Roman Catholic Church every Monday. We are very grateful to all who supported this event. Our Spring Luncheon and Sale was held Sat. May 1. We were a little disappointed in the small attendance but quite pleased with the profit of $585.00. Our thanks to all who came to this event. Lillian Parkinson NEW ALTAR GUILD As the new President, I would like to welcome our 5 new members to the Altar Guild: Penny, Wendy, Shirley, Claire and Thelma. I would also like to thank our previous president Lillian, for all her time and great work. It was well appreciated. I would also like to thank Edna for her dedication as part of the old Altar Guild. We will all use our imagination to make the church and flowers looking great. We are in charge and therefore must make sure that there is nothing missing on the Altar and that everything is clean. We appreciate everyone’s help and I would like to thank everyone for their time and ideas. Ann Allen Caster [Top] THE ALLEN STORY The Allen family moved to Rawdon when Victor was a young man. He bought the farm on Chemin Labreche, about 4 miles below Rawdon. Victor, his mother and youngest sister, Hilda, became members of Christ Church. While farming in New Glasgow, they were all members of St. John’s Church and St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness, Kilkenny, Que. Victor’s great grandparents helped build the little black and white wooden church there. Services are still held in the church in the summer months. The Cockburn family moved to Rawdon in 1949. I attended my first service in Christ Church in May of that year. My aunt and I were very impressed with the beauty of the church and the friendly people. Shortly after the church was closed for renovations and services were held in the Parish Hall. In the Fall, I started teaching in the old white schoolhouse on 4th Ave. I taught grades five and six. For the first few days I shared a classroom with Lillian Parkinson. The downstairs room was divided so Lillian could have her own classroom. Over the years we have remained good friends. Victor and I met that Fall at an A.Y.P.A. dance held in the Parish Hall. Two years later we were married in Christ Church. Several years later when our children were old enough to attend, I started teaching Sunday School and continued for more than twenty years. The “Little Helpers” sponsored by the Women’s Auxiliary, needed a secretary and they asked me to take on the job. Every baby baptized in our church received a card on their birthday until they were five years old. An annual gathering of parents and children was held in the Parish Hall. During this time, Victor was a sidesman and also served as Deputy Warden. Another duty was ringing the church bell before services. Our whole family worked for the church bazaar, starting in Rev. Sellwood’s time. Many former parishioners enjoyed attending this event. It was always like “Old Home Week” and everyone worked well together to make it a success. This event has now been replaced by the Family Fair and is a huge community effort. This requires much work and dedication by many people. Both Victor and I regret that we are no longer able to take an active part in our Church. Health problems have slowed us down. We are so pleased that the work continues with the help of many new members of the congregation. It is wonderful to see the youth of our parish taking an active part. They are our future. By: Gerry Allen , as told to Shirley Tinkler Moore [Top] EVERYTHING UP ROSES, TULIPS AND LUPINS, WE HOPE I am very honored to become a member of the Altar Guild at Christ Church and to be allowed to become “Flower Lady” I have very big gardening shoes to fill and I don’t mean Mrs. Parkinson has big feet. Lillian has done a wonderful job for many years and will be greatly missed. She has graciously informed me that I can call upon her for help and I hope not to make a pest of myself. Thank you. You may contact me to place flowers on the altar either by phone at 834-7643, or at church. Please do this by Thursday of the desired week you would like the flowers so I can have it put in the bulletin by John Clague. I also have forms for sponsoring flowers in memory of your loved ones. You will be able to inform us what kind of flowers you would like on the altar, on which Sunday, during which month. If you wish to be a sponsor, please contact me and I will gladly provide you with a form. We appreciate your involvement in making Christ Church even more beautiful while remembering your loved ones. Thank you for your support. Penny Bertrand TWITTERINGS ……… Congratulations and best wishes to four members of the congregation who celebrated an 80thbirthday during this past year: Edna Quenneville, Lillian Parkinson, Doug Kyte and Ruth Parkinson. ……….A grandson for Alice and Jim Parkinson ! Josh was born in January to Allan and Fanny Parkinson ………Elizabeth (Hamelly) and Keith Burgoyne spent the month of March in Melbourne Australia, visiting their son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter Bridget. ………Our community was fortunate to have been a stop on the speaking tour of Rev. Dale Lang whose son Jason was killed at his high school in Taber, Alberta in 1999. Rev. Lang’s uplifting talk focused on community responsibility and caring, bullying, the importance of respect for others and forgiveness. ……….A son, Trevor Austin, was born to Tim and Tracy (Tannahill) Carroll. He is the great-grandson of Claire and Austin Tinkler and Joyce Brownrigg. Best wishes to all. |
