This is an important message from the National Church regarding a day of Prayer for Zimbabwe (this Sunday!) and includes important information on their situation. It’s been running in the news lately, so if you’ve been following the coverage and wondering what role the United church is playing – see below!

Also, please support local fundraising events for Africa. This is a particularly important one passed on by members here at FMC. tc3-poster_nova-scotia_july-9-2

For Immediate Release
Thursday, June 19, 2008

United Church Calls for Prayer and Diplomatic Action for Zimbabwe

Toronto: The United Church of Canada is inviting its congregations to
join with churches worldwide in celebrating a day of prayer for Zimbabwe
on Sunday, June 22. The invitation was extended by the World Council of
Churches in a letter this week to its member churches.

The day of prayer for Zimbabwe, which is an initiative of Christians in
the southern African country, is timed to take place shortly before the
runoff election for the presidency scheduled for Friday, June 27.

“It is impossible to overstate the importance of this election, its
fairness, its outcome and its aftermath,” writes World Council of
Churches (WCC) General Secretary the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia. “Events in
the coming weeks will challenge the people of Zimbabwe and the world to
find means of overcoming violence in the exercise of democracy, and the
results will influence the future of the nation and the region,” he
adds.

Writing also to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the World Council
of Churches expressed continued concern about the situation in Zimbabwe
and asked the world body to use its resources to assure an end to
pre-election violence in the southern African country and a free and
fair election on June 27.

Referring to President Robert Mugabe’s statement last week that he would
“go to war” rather than acknowledge an election victory by the
opposition, Kobia writes, “This attitude on the part of the president
undermines the integrity of elections and belittles the Zimbabwean
electorate.”

“Where the Mugabe government fails in its responsibility to protect the
Zimbabwean people, the international community must assume that burden;
in this endeavour, the United Nations should assume a leading role,” the
WCC letter adds.

In a similar initiative, The United Church of Canada has sent letters to
the presidents of Zambia and South Africa and to Canada’s Minister of
Foreign Affairs, urging the three men to redouble their efforts to
ensure that Zimbabwe’s presidential election is free and fair.

Regrettably, the Government of Zimbabwe appears to be refusing to comply
with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Guidelines and is
turning a blind eye to, if not orchestrating, a campaign of
election-related violence across the country.

In a letter to Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who is also the
President of the SADC, the United Church states that some of its
partners in Zimbabwe have reported many acts “of politically motivated
violence…including the torture, killing, and jailing of opposition
party officials and supporters and the withholding of desperately needed
food aid to influence people to vote for President Robert Mugabe.” For
security reasons these partners cannot be named, but similar reports
have been filed by Zimbabwean human rights groups and Amnesty
International.

The United Church urges both President Mwanawasa and South African
President Thabo Mbeki to use their considerable influence within SADC to
ensure that the regional body presses Zimbabwe to abide by the SADC
election guidelines. “This would include ensuring freedom of access by
all parties to all areas of the country, equal access to the media, and
campaigning that is peaceful and free of the violence that prevails at
the moment,” the letters state.

SADC can also act to ensure that election results are again posted
outside polling stations and that the numbers of SADC election observers
are scaled up considerably, the letters add.

“Indeed, we believe that SADC observers should be on the ground in
Zimbabwe now to monitor the pre-election environment and that they
should stay until the election results have been released,” comments
Gary Kenny, The United Church of Canada’s program coordinator for
Southern Africa.

In the letter to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Emerson,
the church calls on the Government of Canada to use its diplomatic
offices to press SADC heads of state to enforce the SADC election
guidelines. “If the SADC Guidelines are enforced by SADC members and
respected by the Zimbabwean government, there is a good chance that the
June 27 presidential election will be free and fair,” the church says.
If not, “we fear that the elections will sentence the people of Zimbabwe
to yet more economic hardship and misery and the entire region of
Southern Africa to growing political instability.”

The United Church’s three letters also draw attention to the Zimbabwean
government’s ongoing interference with domestic and international aid
organizations that are trying to deliver urgently needed food aid. In
Zimbabwe during election time, food is often used as a political weapon.

For more information, please contact:
Mary-Frances Denis
Communications Officer
The United Church of Canada
416-231-7680 ext. 2016 (office)
1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016 (toll-free)
mdenis@united-church.ca

I have a little bit of everything to pass on to you today, mostly in the way of annoucements.

The first is to remember that as of right now, we worship at 10am until August 31st! In the fall, FMC is discerning a new worship service that will find us all getting together at 10:30 starting on September 7th. Keep that date on your calendar becuase not only does it mark the start of the busy fall season, but it’s also the date of our BLOCK party – corner of Queen and Tobin for those of you unfamiliar to FMC.

I also want to make mention of an open forum on Ethical Shopping being held at St. Luke’s United Church in Tentallon at 7pm June 25th. It’s open to anyone whose ever fretted over the purchase of goods made in countries with questionable labour standards and human rights records. Given that much of our population shops at Walmart, it’s not a bad idea to check this out (don’t get me started on fair trade coffee and Tim Horton’s…why is it everyone likes to rant and rave about StarBucks but no one investigates where their daily Tim’s fix actually comes from?)

The facilitator of the forum is our own Dr. Al Sinclair and he wants you to bring all your questions and ethical dilemmas to the forum. For more information call St. Luke’s at 826-2523, or why not visit their website? http://www.saintlukesunited.ca

Just wanted to let you know about a non-profit group called “The Sanctuary Project Society” which is currently helping Metro Turning Point Shelter develop their ornamental garden.

As many of you know (and have experienced), FMC has regularly participated in Metro Turning Point’s “Street Walk” which aims to educate people about the challenges of street life and what we can do to support the efforts of local shelters and organizations. Check out our post from back in the fall about Metro Turning point for more information.

As far as I can recall, the point of the garden is to offer people a place to rest and get in touch with the beauty of the world. It’s definately an important effort.

If you’re interested in donating some of the plants/flowers, please see the list below and contact Kelly Colleen at missionkelly@yahoo.ca.

Thanks to Leslie M for bringing this to our blog and stay tuned for pictures…

Shrubs and Vines:

1 Japense Pieris 3 Dwarf Rhodo 1 Leucothoe

2 Pyramidal Yew 1 Golden Ninebark 5 Boston Ivy

3 Lime or golden Barberry 1 Climbing Hydrangea

Perennials

Sedges or shade tolerant ornamental grasses Astilbe

Columbine Bellflower (upright) Ligularia

Heuchera (any intersting color varieties) Bergenia (Pigsqueak)

Hosta (a few only) Lungwort (Pulmonaria)

Masterwort (Astrantia) Goosenecked Lossestrife

Lady’s Mantle Solomon’s Seal Ferns Daylily

The aim is to help orphans of HIV/AIDS to mature into stable adults capable of forming loving relationships, of being nurturing parents and responsible citizens. The center will also provide day care, after school supervision and support, recreation and sports programs, school uniforms/fees/transportation to and from, startionary and food parcels.In addition, 16 out of 20 child-headed families were adopted and will recieve sponsorship for one year.

Thanks!

Leslie

If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child please contact Leslie M. through the FMC office at 902-423-4294 or leave a message here on the blog.

Here is a picture of most of the Fillier Clan at St. James United Church in St. John’s Newfoundland. Rev. Victoria Fillier, who is my sister-in-law, is missing from the picture of me, my dad, and my brother Bob.

The second picture is of Lorna and her family, including her mother Hilda Griffin and her father, Ron Griffin. The green stole is a wonderful gift from my home congregation at St. James United.

It was an incredible service for Newfoundland East District’s final worship service, packed with folks I had not seen in ages and some I had never seen at all who traveled quite a ways to be with us for the occasion.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers during this journey, and keep us in mind as we prepare to travel to Louisbourg, Cape Breton, for July 1st! As for Lorna and I, we’re off with Rev. Trent to Maritime Conference in Sackville this weekend for the ordination service. Many of my classmates are being ordained, and we’ll send along our greetings and prayers for their ministry as well.

Fort Massey United Church

Halifax, NS

May 11, 2008

Dear friends:

On this Pentecost Sunday it seems fitting that I write to you on a matter concerning worship offered at our church.

It is no secret that attendance at both services has been in decline over the past several years. I realize that this is partly due to a national trend. However, over this past year, in particular, I have noticed that we have been having difficulty retaining new attendees. I am convinced that the lack of numbers in the pews at both services is having a negative impact on newcomers as well as on some of us faithful Fort Massey folk.

At my request, the Kirk Session agreed to initiate an ad hoc committee of elders, representing both the 9:30 & 11:00 services. Our goal was to look at offering a single Sunday morning worship service as soon as possible. Subsequently, this committee recommended to the Kirk Session that effective September 2008, the 9:30 and 11:00 services be replaced with a new 10:30 worship experience. Along with the nearly twenty recommendations made by the committee, the Kirk Session and ministry staff have agreed to one Sunday morning worship service for the 2008-09 year.

I am very aware of the energy, time and commitment many of you gave to these two services over the years. Thank you for your support. I also recognize that, for some, you will be feeling a loss of your worshipping community, whether it be 9:30 or 11:00. Please know that I share your sense of loss.

I am excited about the opportunities that this will give to our present and future worshippers. I ask that you keep Fort Massey in your prayers as we venture forth together on this journey. May the Spirit continue to guide us and move us.

On behalf of the Kirk Session,

yours faithfully,

Trent D. Cleveland-Thompson

Moderator

]]> http://fortmasseychurch.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/a-letter-from-the-minister/feed/ 0 fortmasseychurch http://fortmasseychurch.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/heads-up-from-rev-ali/ http://fortmasseychurch.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/heads-up-from-rev-ali/#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 14:02:57 +0000 fortmasseychurch http://fortmasseychurch.wordpress.com/?p=31 ]]> Many of you at FMC know the now Rev. Ali – a former student here at FMC. Ali sent us this important notice today so I wanted to pass it on to you. It concerns the world food shortage. Please take a moment to read it and sign if you so wish.

Ali wrote:

I just signed a petition urging world leaders to tackle the food crisis now gripping the world. This is important and I thought you might like to sign it too:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/world_food_crisis/tf.php?cl_tf_sign=1

–
Have you noticed food costing more when you shop? Here’s why — we’re plunging headlong into a world food crisis. Rocketing prices are squeezing billions and triggering food riotsIn Sierra Leone alone the price of a bag of rice has doubled, now unaffordable for 90% of citizens. Fears of inflation stalk the whole world, and the worst could be yet to come.

We need to act now — before it’s too late. So we’re launching an urgent campaign with African foreign minister and human rights campaigner Zainab Bangura. Click below to see Zainab’s video message and add your name to the food crisis petition — we need to raise 200,000 signatures by the end of this week to deliver a massive global outcry to leaders at the UN, G8 and EU:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/world_food_crisis/tf.php?cl_tf_sign=1

There’s two links I want to bring to your attention that we recieved in our inbox at the church this week.

The first is to a PBS interview with Jeremiah Wright by Bill Moyers. This is the controversial pastor of U.S. presidential candidate Barak Obama.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04252008/profile.html

The second is a YouTube sermon by Rev. Kevin Little of the United Church entitled “What is Truth?” It’s just a clip but you may want to check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEQFIo1lFbk

Dear Leslie,

My sincere apologies for the delay in reporting back after receiving the funds for the Easter meals. This is because I wanted us to spend all the money first and then give you a complete account. Unfortunately what we want to spend the surplus money for, after buying meals for 4 days, is currently unavailable at the suppliers. We have an acute shortage of elbow crutches, so we thought we could buy some locally made ones because it would make us get more, than just a few if we got the imported western made ones. The problem is that the rings that go around the elbow are the component that is currently missing and I’m not sure when they will be in. That is why I have decided to let you know what has happened so far.

Since the money was for buying food for the 4 days of Easter, we decided to buy food for 4 days of the weekend that followed. The patients were very happy with that after explaining the source of funding, so that they are not surprised as to why they are having good meals which they usually don’t have. As the needs are many in the centre, we thought we should use the surplus on what will help many of them with their independence, the elbow crutches.

We will inform you again when the crutches are finished. Attached are some of the photographs of some patients and the food we bought for the 4 days.

Thank you for your usual support
Simunji