Faith in Action – April 29, 2025

UCW Worship Service – this Sunday – May 4th!  2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the United Church of Canada.  In celebration of the role of women in the church, the UCW will be leading worship on Sunday, May 4.  Please join us for this special service!  

VOLUNTEERS MAKE WAVES-  The week of April 27 to May 3, 2025 is designated as National Volunteer Week. Thank you to all the Windsor Park United Church volunteers for all you do for the congregation and for the many other volunteer roles you take on for other organizations in the community, around the city, throughout the province, across the country, and in the world.

Lenten Memory Tree – The Pastoral Care group thanks everyone who added a card to the Lenten Memory Tree during the season of Lent.  The Pastoral Care Cluster would like to invite you to share in a ceremony before church on May 11, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. We will be scattering the ashes from the cards that were left on the Memory Tree. This short ceremony will take place in the Memorial Garden outside the church. Everyone is welcome to join us.

Easter Lily Memorial – Thank you to everyone who brightened our sanctuary on Easter Sunday by sharing a lily in memory of a loved one.

Welcome Diane!  We continue to get to know our new Minister Candidate, Diane Meredith!  Currently you will see Diane assisting with worship on Sunday mornings and very busy with meetings during the week as she transitions to her role at WPUC!  Please introduce yourself when you are at the church and wear your name tag if you can.  Also, new WPUC name tags will be ordered soon.  Please contact the office if interested. Both magnet and pin type will be available, price to be determined. Deadline for name tag orders is May 26, 2025.

Used Book Sale! – Our “little fundraiser that could” raised close to $100 on Sunday.  Thank you to everyone who helped with set-up and take-down and to those who donated funds for their chosen books!

It’s Spring Choir Time!
– Do you like to sing?  Spring choir is for you!
– Do you like to be home before dark?  Spring choir is for you!
– Can’t commit for a whole year? Spring choir is for you!
– Like to “try before you buy?” Spring choir is for you!
The Worship Choir invites you to join in for 7 weeks (from now until the end of June).  Come out and help us celebrate the U.C.W. and Anniversary of the United Church of Canada, along with leading the music for other Sundays such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.  Practices are on Thursdays from 7:45-9:15 p.m. starting May 1. All welcome!

Emergency Food Cupboard – Thank you to everyone who continues to add to our Food Cupboard!  We have an ongoing need for the following: powdered milk, peanut butter, broth soups, instant coffee, crackers, cereal, pasta, pasta sauces, items that children can take to school for snacks, juice boxes, canned tuna, beans, muffin mixes, canned fruits and vegetables, cat and dog food.  All donations are appreciated!

Pastoral Care Group – If you are aware of anyone from our church community who might benefit  from Pastoral Care support, you can speak with Sue Turley (office@windsorparkunitedchurch.com or 204-256-8792) to share discreetly. If you have some time in your schedule to connect with a shut-in or hospitalized individual from our church community by phone or in person, please reach out to Pat Lumsden (lumsdenpa@mymts.net or 204-254-6301) for more information.

After church coffee – Thank you to those who have hosted coffee time after church and also to those who have donated treats and helped out with serving!  Also, a big thank you to everyone who helps by putting away their chair after coffee time. Special thanks to the Thursday Morning Study Group who has been signing up once a month.  If you’d like to be involved in helping with coffee time, just sign up on the sign-up sheet by Sue’s office – you can sign-up on your own, with a friend or with a group!

Speaking of Coffee… Don’t forget that the Holy Grounds Café Coffee Group meets every Wednesday from 1-2:30 p.m. Come out for a coffee and a visit!

MAY IS PAR MONTH (Pre Authorized Remittance) – If you have automatic withdrawals from your bank account to pay your bills, taxes, or mortgage, then you already understand the PAR principle.  Besides being convenient, using PAR for your offering ensures regular monthly givings to help our church’s ministry even when you are away.  You will be providing our congregation a dependable flow of contributions, which increases our overall financial stability.  Why not participate in PAR?  It’s a way that your monthly gift  to this community of faith and to our larger work through Mission and Service can be automatically withdrawn from you bank account to the church account. It’s easy to start and simple to change, as those of your already using PAR know very well. Please contact the office to sign up or for more information. A void cheque is required. Thank you for your generosity, and we hope you join those on PAR. Being regular in your giving feels great!

Beyond Our Walls:

Spread the word!  WPUC has space for rent!  Thank you to everyone who has been sharing suggestions and information on our rental spaces.  For more information on spaces and fees, please visit http://www.windsorparkunitedchurch.com/services/   or call the church office!

Broadview Magazine – Broadview magazine (formerly The Observer) can help keep you up-to-date on spiritual issues in Canada and the world.  Start or renew your subscription through the WPUC church office today! The cost is $30.00 for the year (this includes taxes) and payment can be made by cheque (made payable to WPUC), cash, or etransfer (to office@windsorparkunitedchurch.com). The deadline for subscriptions/renewals through WPUC is May 1, 2025 (that’s this Thursday!).

Find out more at: https://broadview.org/about-us/ 

RED DRESS DAY – May 5th  Monday, May 5th  is Red Dress Day honoring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2-spirit people, and there are two opportunities for you to join in the observance.

A Memorial Walk and Ceremony will be held on Monday, May 5, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to bring awareness to MMIWG2S+.  The walk starts at Memorial Park and ends at Oodena Circle at the Forks for ceremony, guest speakers, followed by a healing jingle dress dance.

Also on Monday, May 5, 2025 beginning at 5:30 p.m., the 5^th Annual MMIWG2S+ Walk for Justice takes place at Oodena Circle at the Forks. If you would like to join in please meet up with Diane Meredith, Minister Candidate in the parking lot in front of the Old Spaghetti Factory at 5:30 p.m.

Singing for a Century Concert – The Seven North East Winnipeg United Churches Cluster is presenting this concert in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the United Church of Canada. Admission by donation to 1 Just City.  The concert will take place on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. at Gordon-King Memorial United Church (The Big Red Church) at 127 Cobourg Avenue.

SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE – Our Second Bed Build will be held on Saturday, May 31, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 601 Bowman Avenue. In order to make this event a success, we need the support of many volunteers from Windsor Park United Church as well as your friends and families. You can help build at the site on the 31^st. NO CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE is required. All materials, tools, and safety equipment will be provided at the site. Please sign up on the poster displayed in the narthex of WPUC. Our goal is to build another 20 beds this year.

Check out the photos from 2024 here:

Photos from the SiHP Bed Build at WPUC!

We have also started collecting donations of new twin-sized bedding.
If you find a great deal on sheet sets, pillows, comforters/blankets, OR you would like to make a quilt or afghan, you can bring your contribution in between now and May 22^nd  on Sunday mornings or during office hours.  Tables are set up at the back of the sanctuary for all items that are contributed. Any support that you can provide is greatly appreciated. We are hoping to meet or exceed our total of 100 items collected last year. All donations will be packed and transported to the Bed Build for Sleep in Heavenly Peace volunteers to use when they install the beds.

Another way to help is to make sandwiches for all the Bed Build Participants! Sandwich making will take place on Friday, May 30, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in the downstairs kitchen. If interested, please sign the appropriate poster in the lobby at church.

Or… you can help by serving snacks and meals to the Bed Build volunteers on Saturday, May 31, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. As this task will be off-site, we can help with carpooling if you need. If interested, please sign the appropriate poster in the lobby.

Some of the bedding collected in 2024

Message from the Moderator of the United Church of Canada around Climate Change:
Climate Message

UCC video celebrating 100 years of Mission and Service:

Our condolences and prayers are with Roman Catholics around the globe as they grieve the loss and celebrate the life and legacy of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. Our prayers are with the Cardinals who will gather in the coming days for the conclave to discern a new spiritual leader.
Statement on the passing of the Pope in Broadview: 

Faith leaders react to Pope Francis’s death

Prayer from the United Church of Canada following the tragedy at the Lapu Lapu block party in BC:

Creator God, be with us in these times of trouble:

We are surrounded by images of violence from the Lapu Lapu celebration in Vancouver.

we are called to wrestle with how to respond to the devastation, death, fear, and hatred around us with compassionate and prophetic love.

we grieve for a cycle of violence that seems never-ending, and for a world that values some lives more than others.

we grieve for the dead and accompany in prayer and love all those who mourn the loss of life and security.

we confess that we who profess to follow Jesus have been unable or unwilling to obey the command to love one another.

we acknowledge we have failed to break down systems that oppress and marginalize because of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

we lift up the voices of all who experience oppression, discrimination, and hatred.

we listen carefully to hear the changes we need to make in our own lives and institutions so that we include rather than exclude.

we give thanks for and offer support to the peacemakers and bridge-builders and those who fight hatred and fear with love and understanding.

we give thanks for those faithful witnesses who speak truth to power and call for conversion to Jesus’ way of love.

we are called to imagine what new hope might look like in a world not filled with such violence and fear.

Creator God, be with us in these times of trouble. Amen

Our condolences are offered to our own Filipino community in Amherst.

Lapu-Lapu Day is celebrated every year in the Philippines on 27 April. It marks the memory of Lapu-Lapu, a national hero who stood up against Spanish colonization. The festival was officially set up in Vancouver in 2023. A statement on its website says, “the declaration not only honours the heroic legacy of Datu Lapu-Lapu but also symbolizes the cultural harmony and mutual respect that thrive in the province of British Columbia.”