Notices for the Week of March 6th - 12th
Notices for the Week: March 5 – March 12th
Sunday March 6th - Mothering Sunday
Tuesday
11am Lenten groups in the hall office
7:00 pm Parish Council meeting
in the Lower Hall Kitchen
Wednesday
10:00 am – Holy Eucharist
6:30pm - Evening prayer in the chapel
7pm – Lenten Group in the hall office
*Saturday
Clocks ahead – Don’t want to be late for church
Gardening Group working on the flower beds in the morning
and yes, there will be lunch!
Lenten Program – Our Lenten Program continues on Tuesday mornings at 11am and Wednesday evenings at 7pm in the Rector’s office.
Kids shop only yard sale Thank you to all who help with this sale & again, in all three of the yard sales. It was a tremendous effort which recycled, helped others procure wanted items, gave us many hours of fellowship & helped to financially offset some of the loss rental income for last year. Thank you!!
Chair Cleaning - Thank you! Last Monday, a group of ladies gathered to clean the chairs in the upper hall. Thank you for all your hard work. It is a great improvement!
Putting on the Gloves - Do you like putting on your gardening gloves and digging in the dirt? If so, we have a great opportunity for you to come along and help with preparing the flower beds next Saturday. Lunch will be served at the end of the morning For more information (including the start time), please speak with Jean Robertson.
Clothing and Textile Drive – Next Sunday, March 13th is our next pickup. If you have clothing to get rid of and know of others who have clothing they would like to dispose of, please bring it all along next Sunday. This is clothing, shoes, boots, draperies, linens, bags etc. everything made by the textile industry is acceptable. For more information, please speak with Fil Sotana who is the coordinator of this fundraising project.
Messy Church – Saturday, March 19th - A Messy Church Event will be taking place in the parish hall from 3pm to 5pm for children, youth & parents. We will make palm crosses, and using stories, music, and songs learn all about what Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ life as we get ready to celebrate his resurrection at Easter. There is a sign up sheet so please sign up your family for this fun learning event. An invitation has gone out to the Church of the Epiphany and to St. Michael’s for their young people to come and participate.
Our Street Sign Needs a Volunteer – We need a volunteer who will take care of keeping our street sign at the corner of Old Yale Rd. and 128 Street up to date by changing the message using the lettering which is provided. Our sign lets passersby know of upcoming events and activities especially our services, yard sales, special events etc. Please speak with one of the wardens if you would like to take this on. Also speak with Kelly Foulds who has done this ministry for a number of years and who can fill you in on what’s involved.
Bookings of the Hall (and Church) For the last few years Rohan Anthonisz has been taking care of the bookings for the use of the hall and the church buildings. We want to thank Rohan for the work he has done during this period of time. We are now bringing in a new system for bookings. The idea behind this is to streamline our bookings arrangements. Bookings include anything from church services to meetings, parties, fellowship gatherings, workshops etc. Bookings are made for St. Helen’s groups and events, for the Korean Church, the Mar Thoma Church as well as other outside groups including Surrey Photography Club, the Fraser Glen group, as well as other groups and individuals. Please note all church groups must book space through the bookings manager. Jos Laskey has agreed to take this on for the time being to get it up and running. Yes, you may speak with her at church but you are still required to send an email or phone the parish office.
*Making a booking - The best way to make a booking is by email. We have a dedicated email address for this which is: bookings4SaintHelen@outlook.com
Or you can leave a message on the office telephone at 604-581-4800.
*Preliminary information needed to make a booking – Your name and group, contact details, the date of the event or meeting, Please make any new bookings either by email or phone. The coordinator will check the calendar for the time and the space needed and get back to you to confirm, or, if a booking is already in place, will suggest an alternate space or date. Your booking will be placed in the parish calendar once confirmed.
Do you Enjoy Digging in the Ground? If so, this may be a volunteer position for you. As you probably know, Roshan Mathew has been coordinating the cemetery on behalf of the parish for the last number of years. He is no longer able to dig graves for the placing of cremated remains which means we are in need of a volunteer. The requirements are that you are physically fit to be able to dig a rectangular hole to the depth of about 30-36 inches with width and length of approximately 12” X 16” to accommodate an urn containing ashes. We have only about 5 burials of cremated remains a year. If not an individual, this can certainly be done by a pair of people or a team. There is normally plenty of time given to get the work done so it is often at your own leisure to complete the work. There are a few further details about this position so please do speak with one of the wardens or the rector if you think you could take this on.
The Parish Office and St. Helen’s ‘Business Continuity Plan’ As you know we have not had an office administrator for the past 12 months. Phone messages are picked up by our rector Steve, several times a day and, with the help of Jos, he takes care of the day to day administrative aspects of running the office including photocopying filing etc. In addition to the day to day things that must be done, we are developing a job description for a parish administrator with the idea that at some point over the next two years the parish will hopefully be in a position to take on a paid part time administrator. Jos Laskey, who has had a great deal of church administration experience at national, diocesan, and parish levels has agreed to coordinate some, but not all of this on a volunteer basis until we know the work that needs to be done week by week, over the course of the church year. This is all a part of strengthening the ‘business’ side of running the parish not only for the best use of the rector’s time but for the smooth running and strengthening of our life together which is all part of the foundations for strong parish growth.
Annual Easter Bunny Run We are collecting new items, stuffed animals, small toys, story books, crayons, colouring books, bubbles, yo-yo’s, board games, craft kits, jump ropes, card games, stickers, cars, planes, hair accessories, wrapped candy & chocolate, for boys and girls from toddlers to age 12 to hand out at the Surrey Food Bank the week before Easter. If shopping is a problem, or you would prefer to make a financial contribution, please speak to Judy Nicholson at 604-594-8562. A box will be placed at the back of the church for your donations. As always, your support is most appreciated.
Holy Week at St. Helen’s – March 20-27
Palm Sunday
10am Procession of Palms and Eucharist
Monday to Wednesday
6:30pm Evening prayer in the Lady Chapel
Maundy Thursday
5:30pm – Pot Luck Supper – Hall
7:00pm – Institution of the Last Supper
Good Friday
10:00am Children, Youth and Family Service
11:00am Good Friday Service
Holy Saturday
6:00pm Vigil, Lighting of the New Fire, Renewal of Baptism Vows
and First Eucharist of Easter
Easter Sunday
10:00am Festival Eucharist to Celebrate Our Lord’s Resurrection
Easter Day Egg Hunt – There will be an egg hung on Easter Day for the children following our morning service. Spread the word. It should be a lot of fun for everyone.
Baptism Dates are Forthcoming – the next date for baptisms is the Sunday after Easter, April 3rd. If you are thinking about being baptized or know of someone who is considering baptism, please speak with the rector as soon as possible so that arrangements and preparations may be made.
Confirmation will be taking place on Sunday, April 17th at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver. Lynda Hebert, Ashrita Chatterjea, and Ananya Chatterjea are being prepared. Please keep them in your prayers
Readings for Sunday, March 13th – Lent 5 - Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8