Week of September 27

It was a very memorable inaugural worship at the Wesley Chapel in St. Paul's University College on Univ. of Waterloo. Small and quaint but very intimate. Anyways, it will be our place of worship for a little while. In some ways, the desire to stay there is great and yet there is a strong desire to out grow it quickly.
Eyes are burning so I'll just put up the announcements for this week.
Blessings.
PT

Announcements:

1. We welcome you to our inaugural new location for SimplyChurch.
2. We thank Pastor Lew Worrad for speaking this morning.
3. Sunday school starts today following Worship service at 11:30pm (Today’s topic: “God is…?”)
4. Grocery run – Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. meet at Mikey’s. Please confirm ahead of time so that we have enough vehicles to accommodate everyone.
5. Sunday Rides – rides are available at 9:45 a.m. at the side of the HMV store on University and Philip. Please confirm with Pastor Tim beforehand to ensure there will be a seat for you. If you require a ride and that pick up point is not suitable, please inform us and we will arrange an alternative pick up point.
6. Servant-hearted – if you are interested in helping out with worship, greeting, caring, ushering, Children Sunday school, set up, please contact pastortim@gmail.com as soon as possible.
7. Are you web-savvy? We are looking for talented people who would be interested in helping design the simplychurch.ca website and bulletin.
8. Pastor Tim will be away for the Thanksgiving weekend (October 7-13).

Happenings

This is what is happening this week:

Thursday 7:00pm - Car Workshop @ 427 Philip St. (Meetz' Small Engines). Learn about oil change and brake repair.

Saturday - Stem Cell Drive: Want to save a life? You could be a possible winner to save someone's life. But you won't know until you play and it is simple - Just a simple cheek swap from you will increase the Chinese "Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide Database". Guelph-Cambridge Chinese Alliance Church will be conducting a Stem Cell Drive this coming Saturday. Bus transportation is provided (see schedule below) from William G. Davis Center. Remember to bring your OHIP card. Please consider this possible life-saving test by adding to the database.

Depart Trip: 12:15pm Waterloo University to 31 Tannery St. W. Cambridge
(William G Davis 2:30pm Waterloo University to 31 Tannery St. W. Cambridge
Computer Research 3:15pm Waterloo University to 31 Tannery St. W. Cambridge
Center)

Return Trip: (From the church back to William G Davis Computer Research Center)
1:45pm 31 Tannery St. W. Cambridge to Waterloo University
2:30pm 31 Tannery St. W. Cambridge to Waterloo University
4:30pm 31 Tannery St. W. Cambridge to Waterloo University

Sunday - We are moving! Just a reminder that we will hold our very first worship service at St. Paul's University College Chapel. Dr. Lew Worrad will be delivering the sermon that morning and Sunday School will follow.

On the Move!

SimplyChurch is on the move! I say this both literally and dynamically.

Literally because we have outgrown the gracious hospitality of Mr. Wong's home and are moving to the facilities of St. Paul's University College Chapel on the grounds of the University of Waterloo. This is both exciting and challenging as we inflitrate directly onto the hallow grounds of high education and into the world of the largest demographic group of SimplyChurch.

Dynamically because along the way to this juncture, we have picked up a few first and a few friends. Our first partnership with another church in lending us their communion equipment for our communion service. Our first missionary sharing with Volodya and his family from Kazakhstan. Our first marriage (Emily and Joseph). Our first church family with children. Our very first expense (rental fee). As well, Pastor Lew Worrad has been gracious to assist in the preaching and teaching ministry, so in some sense we actually have our first pastoral team.

To misquote CS Lewis, "There is a bit more than hope, SimplyChurch is on the move."

St. Paul'sUniversity College Chapel
University of Waterloo
190 Westmount Road North Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G5

Week of July 12th, 2009

The highly anticipated (and Christian-controversial) 6th installment of the film adaptation of "Harry Potter" will be release this week. Of course I will have to preview it for quality control purposes. I think I gave up reading the series around the 4th or 5th book. Somehow the books got thicker and thicker and the print got larger and larger with greater line spacing as well. Not to mention the price for one of these books. Perhaps it is a reflection of the fact that the readership was also aging as the books were slowly released... and our eyesight worsen with age.
Well you can bug me about a review of the latest Harry Potter movie in about 4 hours after I post this.

Announcements:

Grocery run – Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. meet at Mikey’s. Hoping to catch some $1,2, and 3 deals


Next Sunday – We will celebrate The Lord’s Supper. We welcome all who are practicing and professing Christians to join with us.


Sunday Rides – rides are available at 9:45 a.m. at the side of the HMV store on University and Philip. Please confirm with Pastor Tim beforehand to ensure there will be a seat for you.


Worship teams – if you are interested in helping out for worship, please contact pastortim@gmail.com as soon as possible.


Are you web-savvy? We are looking for talented people who would be interested in helping design the simplychurch.ca website and bulletin.


Please continue to pray that God will guide us in finding an appropriate rental location.

Rice Boy

Ok. I love my rice. I realized tonight after a big bbq dinner, that I just didn't feel "full". The think that was lacking was a good dose of starch.... rice to be exact. Perhaps I have been brainwashed from birth but I just don't feel like a meal has satisfied me until I ingest a large allowance of rice. I know what dietitians says about consuming too much carbs, especially at my age. But I just love my rice - a big huge bowl to go along with yummy chinese dishes with just the right amount of delectable sauce to accentuate the rice.
The word of God is like rice. Not only is it a basic staple, it goes along well with everything in life - the perfect accompliment to the delectable things of life. I just wish my desire for the word of God was as strong as my desire for rice and would come as easily as reaching for a big bowl of rice. If God's word is my daily rice (bread), then I think I am either really mal-nourished or extremely underweight.

Announcements:

Grocery run – Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. meet at Mikey’s. Hoping to catch some $1,2, and 3 deals

Sunday Rides – we have one pick up spot at 9:45 a.m. HMV.

Worship teams – if you are interested in helping out for worship, please contact pastortim@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Are you web-savvy? We are looking for talented people who would be interested in helping design the simplychurch.ca website and bulletin.

Please continue to pray that God will guide us in finding an appropriate rental location.

Next week - Ruth 3

Week of June 28, 2009

Announcements for the week of June 28th:

Grocery run – Tuesday night this week 7:30 p.m. meet at Mikey’s. Hoping to catch some deals.
Canada Day – July 1. Celebrate Canada Day at Columbia Lake. There will be fireworks (weather permitting). If you want to watch it together, please contact Pastor Tim for arrangements.
Sunday Rides – we have one pick up spot at 9:45 a.m. HMV.
Worship teams – if you are interested in helping out for worship, please contact pastortim@gmail.com as soon as possible.
Are you web-savvy? We are looking for talented people who would be interested in helping design the simplychurch.ca website and bulletin.
Please continue to pray that God will guide us in finding an appropriate rental location.

A Fixture

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr).

Someone called me a "fixture" today as I witnessed my 18th UW convocation ... 18th I think... well I should clarify that and say that I took pictures with UW grads for the 18th year. To be honest, I've lost count... but I do know that I've only witnessed one convocation and after that one, I had come to the conclusion that there are just some things in life in which your time is much better spent elsewhere than to sit for several hours for a 12 second glimpse of someone significant to you walk across a stage, shake a hand, and grab a piece of paper. Now, if the student who was giving the valedictorian speech is someone of significance to me, then I might be able to convince my gluteus maximus that it would be a worthwhile investment of time.

Some of us were talking the other night about setting some survey up on FB or some website for some feedback on the question, "Name three events/activity/things that you wish you could get your time back". It was amazing how quickly that list grew as we spurred each other with events in our lives that just made us angry and we want to reclaim our lost time - sitting through a convocation was on the list, along with joint baptismal services with translation, university lectures, bad movies, music recitals, grade 1 and grade 2, BGR's, customer service calls, cable TV or phone installation and I am sure that by now certain personal events have come into your mind.

Photos on convocation day is like that. Is it time well spent for an outsider like myself? Sure it is but a tiny few hours expended in one's treasury of hours here on earth; and probably miniscule in comparison to the hours one has procrastinated and squandered away. How much impact is made during that one photo? that one captured moment in time? To be honest, not a whole lot. But what that one photo represents is the completion of time, sweat, blood and tears invested - to them, achieving their degree, to myself... well....
The privilege of the pastor is that there is a title and a position by which you impose upon and impact a person's life. But isn't that the privilege of all who have been called by God? A privilege that does not require a title nor sanctioned by an organization? The title "Christian" and our adoptive position as "children of God" becomes our privilege of being impact players for God. Christ called it "salt and light".

Young people come and after 3,4, 5 or more years, they leave this place - close a chapter of their lives and open a whole new one. Being a pastor to these group of young people has always been a privilege. The names and faces all change but the ministry has, is and always will be the same. Same old same old? To me, it might seem the same but it never gets old.

Congratulation graduates.

Speaking of same old ... next Sunday SimplyChurch will have a slight change of time for worship service. Instead of the usual 10 a.m. we are moving it to 2:00 p.m. due to some hockey conflicts. As well, Pastor Lew Worrad will be preaching and teaching. You certainly don't want to miss that golden opportunity to hear him speak.

And now for the rest of the announcements...

1. Sunday Rides – we have one pick up spot at 9:45 a.m. HMV.

2. Grocery run – Wednesday night 7:30 p.m. meet at Mikey’s.

3. Worship teams – if you are interested in helping out for worship, please contact pastortim@gmail.com as soon as possible.

4. Are you web-savvy? We are looking for talented people who would be interested in helping design the simplychurch.ca website and bulletin.

5. Please continue to pray that God will guide us in finding an appropriate rental location.