First United Church is a welcome place to explore familiar faith and new ways of coming close to the holy. We are a worshiping and faith-living community that encourages, inspires and acts in this world God loves. There are so many voices and expectations that clamour for our attention, it is not always easy to discern God’s call to live justly, to practice kindness and humility. Being part of a community of faith helps. We are stronger together! If you’d like to learn more, make a difference, grow in your faith, get involved!
Announcements
Weekly happenings
Sundays – “Sunday Singers” rehearse at 9:30 am in the sanctuary.
You are welcome to join us in person or via the live-stream for worship at 10:30 am or on Facebook or You-tube anytime during the week.
There are a variety of services and Godly Play stories already on line with which to reconnect and refresh.
Mondays 9:30 to 10:30 am ~ Bible Study – John’s Gospel continues to mystify and enlighten!
Cantare Jubilate mixed voices rehearses 7 pm in the sanctuary
Tuesdays – Women In Song – Rehearses 7 pm in the sanctuary.
On Facebook –
Thursday’s you’ll find a prayer and upcoming readings for worship.
Friday evening we add another quote/question for “Pilgrim’s on the Way”, to Facebook.
Saturday an invitation to worship …
On Facebook and You-Tube
The Godly Play room is posting each Saturday morning!
You’re welcome to check out some of the previous weeks’ stories.
Upcoming events
Apr. 14 – 10:30 am, worship live and live stream
Apr. 16 – 11 am, worship at the Hospital Chapel
7 pm Leadership Team meeting
Apr. 18 – 7 pm, worship at Peace Hills Lodge
Apr. 19 – Norquest in the building
Apr. 20 – Guides are in the building
Apr. 20 – 7 pm, Music of Light and Dark – Women in Song & Cantare Jubilate Concert
Apr. 21 -10:30 am worship live and live-stream, Earth Day
Apr. 22 Earth Day
Apr. 23-24 – Community Kitchen is cooking
Apr. 24 – 28 – We welcome musicians and adjudicators participating in the Wetaskiwin Music Festival
Apr. 28 – 10:30 am worship live and live-stream – Camp Sunday & Celebrating our Grad’s
Apr. 30 – An Afternoon to Remember 1 – 4 pm. Please pre-register to ensure a spot!
May 2 & 9 – 7 pm, Northern Spirit Regional Council Meeting online
May 4 – 7 pm, Wetaskiwin Music Festival Concert
May 5 – 10:30 am worship live and live-stream including Sacrament of Communion
Fundscrip orders due (next order date June 2)
May 7 – 9:30 am, Music Team Meeting
May 8 – 10:20 am, final worship at Season’s Retirement
May 11 – Guides in the building
May 12 – 10:30 am, Worship live and live-stream
May 19 – 10:30 am, worship live and live-stream Pentecost Sunday!
May 20 – office closed
May 21 – 7 pm, Leadership Team Meeting
May 26 – 10:30 am, Worship live and live-stream – Ruth`s final service. Lunch to follow.
Please RSVP by May 16 if you are planning to attend.
June 1 Garage SALE
The Holy Family is on the move …
Pilgrimage – a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place; in search of a new or expanded understanding of self, others, nature, or the holy. You may travel virtually or physically, on your own or accompanied by others, with the same companions or open to those unexpected guests who come and go. Whether you’ve a specific destination on the horizon, or an inner space of being, you may discover the transformation happens on the way.
Play as grace
Pilgrims on the Way ~
“Being aware of God is an art, and if the term is permitted, a noble game.” Jurgen Moltmann
“Laughter is the closest thing to God’s grace” Karl Barth
I wonder how God plays? How you play with God?
“Laughter is the closest thing to God’s grace” Karl Barth
I wonder how God plays? How you play with God?
Play as gift
Pilgrims on the Way ~
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Albert Einstein
“We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw
I wonder how play is a gift in your life?
“We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw
I wonder how play is a gift in your life?
Pilgrims on the Way ~
Jesus is arrested and executed. There are women looking on from a distance. Joseph of Arimathea comes to ask for the body, laying it in his own tomb. Sabbath is about to begin and Mary keeps watch. Ritual and remembering well can help us work through loss. Storytelling, sharing tears and laughter will come. But first there is a time of rest and waiting. A sacred moment when we can almost hear the earth breathing, if we are willing to listen.
I wonder what rituals help you remember well in the midst of loss?
I wonder how you ‘pause’ to let God breathe in you and through you?
I wonder what rituals help you remember well in the midst of loss?
I wonder how you ‘pause’ to let God breathe in you and through you?
Pilgrims on the Way ~
A palm parade and a mob yelling, ‘Crucify’. Holy Week emotions run wild and intense. Jesus is public and available during the day, but at night retreats to a safe place. He is doing the hard work of grieving his own death.
I wonder where you learned to lament? To grieve?
I wonder how expressing those emotions and thoughts has helped you heal?
I wonder where you learned to lament? To grieve?
I wonder how expressing those emotions and thoughts has helped you heal?
Pilgrims on the Way ~
Coulda, shoulda, woulda, and ‘if only’ are the voice of guilt or bitterness that we sometimes take on in our grief. Like denial and avoidance, or keeping busy, they distract us from leaning into sadness. Or perhaps we bury our emotions in cliches, ‘God needed them’. In the last week of his life, a woman anoints Jesus with fragrant perfume. It is an act of extravagance, but also of making room for the reality of death. Instead of trying to fix or ignore it, she acknowledges what is, the sacrifice and the hope. Jesus is not alone.
I wonder where you find space to grieve and with whom?
I wonder how you create safe space for others to teach you about grief?
I wonder where you find space to grieve and with whom?
I wonder how you create safe space for others to teach you about grief?
Pilgrims on the Way ~
“An odd by-product of my loss is that I’m aware of being an embarrassment to everyone I meet…I see people as they approach me, trying to make up their minds whether they’ll ‘say something about it’ or not. I hate it if they do, and if they don’t” C. S. Lewis.
The funny thing about bereavement is the way the bereaved are judged. D. L. Erickson
A widow comes to temple for worship. Jesus notices both her situation and her gift.
I wonder how you respond to those experiencing loss?
I wonder what responses from others you’ve found helpful in your own grief?
The funny thing about bereavement is the way the bereaved are judged. D. L. Erickson
A widow comes to temple for worship. Jesus notices both her situation and her gift.
I wonder how you respond to those experiencing loss?
I wonder what responses from others you’ve found helpful in your own grief?