2. OMF – the Overseas Missionary Fellowship will meet this Saturday, March 9 from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Fireside room.
4. Guest Worship Leader – this Sunday, Timo Jaakkimainen will be our guest worship leader at the 9:00 a.m. Contemporary service.
5. Paul’s Group Canceled – Paul McKechnie’s discussion group is cancelled this Sunday but will resume on Sun. Mar 17.
6. More of Christ. Less of Me. – The season of Lent is a tradition in the Christian calendar with great significance for many Christians. The Lenten season helps prepare God’s people for Easter. Many Christians participate in Lent through various spiritual disciplines such as prayer, worship and fasting. Consider joining us in the participation of Lent this year as we invite St. Paul’s to the spiritual discipline of fasting. We will also provide Sunday Evening Prayer Vigils which will continue this Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. Let’s join together as a congregation in drawing closer to Christ during the Lenten season.
7. Lenten & Easter Schedule:
Sunday, March 10 -Prayer Vigil: Prayers of Confession at 7pm
Sunday, March 17 -Prayer Vigil: Thankfulness with Hymn-Sing at 7pm
Sunday, March 24 -Palm Sunday with Choir Event at 7pm
Thursday, March 28 -Maundy Thursday Service with Communion at 8pm
Friday, March 29 -Good Friday Service at 10am
Saturday, March 30 -Saturday Prayer Vigil at 7pm
Sunday, March 31 -Easter Sunday with 2 services at 9 & 10:30am
8. Ratanak Prayer Meeting – Join us this Tuesday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room. Join with us as we pray for this vital mission.
9. Prayer Fellowship – Our next Prayer Fellowship meeting will be held on Saturday, March 16 at 8:00 a.m. in the Resource Room. Everyone is welcome to join us as we pray for personal concerns, members of the congregation and community, as well as national and global issues.
10. Focus Deadline – We are working on the spring edition of Focus. If you would like to submit an item, please send it to focus@storm.ca or give it to Joan Triandafillou or Ruth Whitehead BEFORE Sunday, March 17. We look forward to hearing from you!
11. Resource Centre – Please take the time to enjoy the “Easter Window” and browse through items put there to help you enjoy Easter. Especially note new additions of children’s books and DVDs. We no longer require donations of old books, pocket books or devotionals. Thank you!
12. Dates for Summer Camp – Can’t wait for the summer? We can’t wait either because we’re launching our “Sonsurf” Summer Camp on July 15-19. Our summer camp this year will be for children from Jr K to Gr 4. As usual, we need congregational support and enthusiasm for this program in order for it to run. If you can commit to helping for this week of summer camp, please contact Evelyn Pike, Andrea Jones or Stuart Miles.
13. Budget 2013 Confirmation:
The Finance Team reports that the congregation committed to an operating budget of $612,091 at the Annual General Meeting on Monday February 25, 2013. This budget represents a 5% increase over last year’s actual income. The congregation is challenged to fully support the mission and staffing requirements obligated by this budget – as these programs are fully funded by your contributions.
This budget represents an average weekly giving of $11,771 for each Sunday in 2013. The budgetary increase represents salaried staff cost of living increases of 1.5%, and the salary of the new children’s pastor. A significant increase in the congregation’s contribution to the Presbyterian Church ministerial pension plan is recognized. The budget continues improving mission funding to the missionaries and organizations we support.
Watch for periodic bulletin updates where we will highlight different aspects of how your contributions are utilized. From Mark Ranson and the Finance Team