Spring 2014 edition 30-1

The Link
A newsletter serving the people of Caledon East United Church
Spring Edition
Volume 30 No. 1
March 2014
Inside This Issue
2
Chairman’s Message
11
Scott Woods Fundraising Event
14
Member Profile
17
Outreach Report
Page 1 of 20
Chairman’s Message
By Karen Hilliard, Council Chair
When we lived in Yellowknife, I remember my sister –in- law Sheila telling me that on
March 1st, no matter what the temperature, she put away her parka and started wearing
her lighter winter jacket. To her and many others I might add, March with its longer days
and warmer temperatures hovering around minus 15 was a time to celebrate the return of
spring. In Yellowknife, on March 21st, to celebrate the spring equinox, there were dog
sled races, bannock making contests, and other outdoor activities like cross country
skiing, skating, and sliding down our local “luge”run. Then in the evening everyone
would bundle up and enjoy the fireworks and if one was really lucky, the northern lights
might also be dancing across the dark night sky.
Since moving to Caledon East, we still look forward to spring. Spending time outdoors
with neighbours, family and friends around a campfire or perhaps doing something a bit
more active like walking the trail or skiing on one of our local hills always brings out
smiles and laughter.
This spring at Caledon East United Church, we also have much to look forward to.
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Sunday, March 30th, 2:00 p.m. at the Caledon Community Complex- the award winning
Scott Woods and his band will present the Scott Woods’ Old Time Jubilee – a live show
honouring Don Messer and his Islander’s.
Saturday April 12th- the Community Women’s Circle will host their Spring Breakfast
which is usually a sold out event enjoyed by all (men are welcome too!).
Sunday April 20th, Easter service - Warren will lead us through the celebration of the
resurrection of Jesus
And last but not least, on Saturday April 26that at 9:30 a.m., the Outreach Committee
will host an Earth Day Walk on our Caledon Trail.
During the month of March and into April, is also the 40 days of Lent. Lent is a time
when people may choose to give up something as a way to remember Jesus’ sacrificing
his life for others. Lent is followed by Good Friday and Easter Sunday which is the most
important day for followers of Jesus. I invite you to listen to our Moderator’s Easter
video message on The United Church of Canada’s YouTube channel .
I hope this spring you will join us at one of our special events and also take the time to
reflect on our Lenten season as we prepare for Easter.
Page 2 of 20
Words from Warren
I’m writing this in the last week of February and the shadow of Lent is at hand.
Oh, how I used to regret the bleak, solemn nature of this season in the Christian calendar!
For example, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and just think of the scripture readings for
that day: in all three years of the lectionary cycle, we read from Joel 2 (“The day of the
LORD is near, a day of darkness and gloom”), Psalm 51 (“I was born guilty, a sinner
when my mother conceived me”), 2nd Corinthians 5 (“As servants of God we have
commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships,
calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger” [the list
goes on!]), and Matthew 6 (where Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal”). I ask
you, how much fun is that?
However, as much as Lent is definitely a time set aside from the normal course of events,
let us always look ahead to where it leads, for Lent leads to Easter’s new life. But let us
face a deep spiritual truth: we’ll never really get to Easter’s new life if we aren’t willing
to walk through life’s many experiences of Good Friday.
So let us walk through the 40 days (and 6 Sundays) of Lent with courage; let us be
willing to look long and hard at ourselves, at life. Let us also hold on to each other as
we do that, for there is a strength in community that will enable us to do everything that
needs to be done! Then, having tasted of Lent deeply, we’ll really be ready for what
Easter brings.
I pray that you have the most meaningful Lent – and, therefore, most meaningful Easter –
of your life, Warren (a.k.a. Rev. Ball!)
Page 3 of 20
Property Report
By Terry Nelson, Chair of Property
The Property & Liability insurance for the church and manse is due March
1st, 2014. The cost is $2,859.84, including taxes. The cost is split as
follows: $2179.20 for the church and $680.84 for the manse. The cost will
increase to cover the new storage facility when it is completed.
The ice storm has damaged the eavestrough on the sanctuary. The damage to
the west side is fairly minor. It will be necessary to splice in a short
piece of trough to replace the portion that is dangling. The damage to the
east side is quite extensive. It will be necessary to replace the entire
section and well as the fascia board and soffits. The contractor is
recommending installing 2 rows of ice stops on both sides to prevent ice
damage in the future. The total cost of the work is $3816.01 including tax.
The work will probably not be completed until the winter is over - whenever
that might be. Because this is a major repair item, the money will come
from the Building Together Fund.
Thanks to Randy Freitag and Bob Pillar for shovelling the ice and snow off the roofs.
This will lessen the impact of the runoff when the temperatures warm up.
Regular repair and maintenance items include the annual inspection of fire extinguishers
and the cleaning of both furnaces.
Page 4 of 20
Finance Committee
by Peter Robinson, Chair
The Finance Committee is pleased to have John Konert join us for 2014.
The Fallis Scholarship fund did increase in value even taking into
account the payout awarded of $750 to Amelia Judge. The direction to
the Stewards of this fund is for the account capital to remain protected.
We ended 2013 with a deficit over $1,600, and also fell short of the
Mission and Service obligation.
The various accounts that we Steward overall decreased in value
approximately $5000 for the year 2013. The deficit amount is included
in that figure.
The physical assets all depreciated in value as a whole approximately
$12,500 for the year 2013. The depreciation losses and account value
decreases mean that 2013 was a difficult year for CEUC financially.
With some planned increased costs in some areas (utilities, salary), and
some planned decreased costs in other areas (committee budgets), the
year over year budget for 2014 is slightly more than the 2013 budget.
The Membership did vote to reduce the Mission and Service obligation for
2014 from $7,500 to $6,500. We look forward to surpassing this goal.
As is usual we were in a very large deficit until the waning hours of 2013
when a few large donations helped uplift the Operating Account to near
break even. It seems that we rely on large year-end donations, when of
course we should not.
Page 5 of 20
Annual Caledon East United Church BBQ
We've placed our order for good weather for Friday June 6th, 2014 Please book your calendars now and plan to attend our evening of good
fellowship amongst the community, and good food too of course!
Local Budget
At the Annual General Meeting of January 26th, the congregation
approved a Local expenditure budget of $82,400 for 2014. This budget
covers the costs required to provide the ongoing church life that our
community has grown to enjoy. There are a number of revenue sources
that fund this budget such as offering donations, Montessori rent, and
other rentals. However more than 80% (about $68,500) of the budget
funding must be attained through congregational offering donations.
Of the 58 regular Local donating families, the average annual donation
needs to be $1,162. This is about $100 greater than the 2013
requirement which reflects a combination of inflationary pressures on
costs, as well as a decrease in the number of regular donating families.
Also it should be reminded that the costs of the church occur throughout
the year, consistently, and it is important to have a regular flow of
monies to pay the bills. As we experienced in late 2013 when the Ice
Storm hit, families were unable to attend services that normally provide
significant donation revenues. This resulted in the Local fund
experiencing a deficit for 2013. The key message from this was that even
though you cannot make it out to church services, the bills still need to
be paid. Please consider enrolling in the monthly PAR program for 2014
so that the Finance committee can plan regular expenditures with the
knowledge of dedicated commitments by it's congregation.
If you wish to enroll in the PAR program please contact David
Dexter (905) 584-1223.
Page 6 of 20
Worship and Music
By Anne Kozluk
Baptisms: On January 16th there was A Sacrament of Baptism for Nicholas Lewis,
precious son of Francine and John Lewis. On February 16, there was A Sacrament of
Baptism for Kaelyn Cheryl Evelyn Hodgkinson, precious daughter of Emily Heslop and
Scott Hodgkinson.
New Music: The choir learned two new anthems for services in Epiphany: ‘He Put a
New Song in My Heart’ and an a cappella piece, ‘The Light of the World’ which featured
a duet by Fay McCrea and Gaye Villa.
World Day of Prayer 2014: The choir will be singing an anthem, ‘Songs of Peace’
during the World Day of Prayer ecumenical service at C.E.U.C. at 2:00 p.m. on Friday
March 7th.
Highlights of Services in Lent:
Lent 1 on Mar.9/14: Sermon: “Our Lenten Journey Begins”. Anthem: ‘Song of a Faithful
Servant’
Lent 2 on Mar.16/14: Sermon: “Let Go and Let God”. Anthem: ‘Jesus, the Very Thought
of You’
Lent 3 on Mar.23/14: Dave Forbes will lead the service. Anthem: ‘By the Well, a Thirsty
Woman’
Lent 4 on Mar.30/14: Sermon: “Becoming Blind”. Anthem: ‘The Lord Will Be My
Shepherd’
Lent 5 on Apr.6/14: Sermon: “Not Ours; Not Theirs; Not Alone”. Anthem: ‘Mold Me,
Teach Me, Use Me, Lord’
Palm/Passion Sunday on Apr.13/14: Sermon: “Of Palms and Passion”. Anthem:
‘Hosanna!’
Good Friday on Apr.18/14: We remember and reflect: a collage of readings, reflections
and special music interspersed with VU144 ‘Were You There’ (modified verses). Lori
Ball will play the keyboards.
Page 7 of 20
‘The Crucifixion’ (A Meditation on the Sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer): On
Good Friday, C.E.U.C. choir members and I have an opportunity to join the choir, under
the direction of Dennis Hahn at Knox United Church in Caledon and sing a cantata, ‘The
Crucifixion’ by John Stainer for Full Chorus of Mixed Voices and Soli for Tenor and
Bass with Organ Accompaniment. The service at Knox Caledon will begin at 10 a.m. The
congregation will be invited to sing along the hymns that are part of the cantata. Our
choir has begun to learn this work during our rehearsals. We are looking forward to
joining the choir at Knox to rehearse the cantata on Mar. 30th, Apr. 6th and Apr. 13th
before we sing the work during the Good Friday Service at Knox Caledon.
Photos from Enzo of the Christmas Concert
C.E.U.C. Choir
Page 8 of 20
Will Kozluk & Bob Pillar performing the ‘Caledon Christmas Song’
C.E.U.C. Choir
Page 9 of 20
Mal McPherson, piano-accordionist
Stefani Matis, flautist
Page 10 of 20
Scott Woods Old Time Jubilee is coming to the Caledon Community
Complex on Sunday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m.! This will be a two hour performance
honouring the days when Don Messer and his Islanders ruled the airwaves. There will be
old time fiddle music, sensational step dancing, trick fiddling and family humour.
This event is hosted by our own church with the proceeds going to support the
Building Together Fund and the Mission & Service Fund. There are still tickets
available and you can get tickets from all our committee members: Betty Ward, Fay
McCrea, Anne Kozluk and Joanne Davis.
If you would like to act as a sponsor for this event, it works like this. For every
$100.00 donation, you will receive two tickets (worth $50.00) and your name will be
printed in the program insert as a sponsor. An income tax receipt for the remaining
$50.00 donation will be issued to you at a later date.
A huge thank you to all those who have acted as sponsors so far and to those who
have offered to help out with food for the reception after the concert.
Swingin’ Fiddles
With the perfect blend of three fiddles playing
sweetly in harmony, your toes will start
tapping to the wonderful tunes of yesteryear.
Swingin’ Fiddles will not only have lots of
traditional fiddle tunes, but also (as the name
indicates) swing music, Big Band, Pop
Standards, Western Swing, Country, Gospel
and of course lots of home-spun humour. Truly
a show you don’t want to miss!
Coming to Caledon
Community Center,
Sunday, March 30th, 2 pm.
Tickets Adults $25 Children $10
Page 11 of 20
United Church Women’s Report
By Betty Ward
Our UCW began the monthly meetings for 2014 on February 11th.
Since it was the week of Valentines we had a fun program when
each member told how she met her husband which brought many laughs.
The World Day of Prayer was held on Friday March 7th hosted by Caledon East United
Church. The theme of the World Day of Prayer was, “Streams in the Desert” about the
country of Egypt. Those taking part in the service were from St. Cornelius and St John’s
Roman Catholic churches as well as Salem and Sandhill United Churches and St, James
Anglican Church. The choir sang, “Songs of Peace”, arranged by Joseph M Martin under
the direction of Anne Kozluk, organist and choir director for Caledon East United
Church. The Rev. Warren Ball showed a video about the country followed with a
reflection. A social time followed in Friendship Hall.
Northern Waters Presbyterial suggested that each UCW in the Presbyterial have a
sister(s) UCW. Palgrave and Inglewood UCWs were given to Caledon East. We are
planning to invite them to one of our fall meetings.
Northern Waters Presbyterial UCW will be held on Wednesday, March 12th at Palgrave
United Church. The program is on ‘Music’. Laurie Cook from Living Waters and Jeane
Whetstone from Northern Waters will lead the singing.
In February our UCW donated to Massey Centre and the Mission and Service Fund.
Donations for the Toronto Conference UCW 40th Anniversary Award have reached
$106,137.55. Two large donations came in the fall of 2013; $5000 from a UCW that is
closing at St. Andrew’s United Church in Toronto; also $20,000 from the sale of Brown’s
Corner United Church in Living Waters. These substantial donations are appreciated by
the United Church Women. The interest from the investment will assist students in the
ordination program at Emmanuel College.
Page 12 of 20
Membership
By Betty Ward
The congregation of Caledon East United Church celebrated the baptisms of Nicholas
Lewis, son of Francine and John Lewis on January 12th. Also on February 16th we
celebrated the baptism of Kaelyn Cheryl Evelyn Hodginson, daughter of Emily and Scott
Hodginson. We also welcomed many visitors who worshipped with us and celebrated the
baptisms.
Our sincere sympathy is extended to the family of the late Muriel McLeod who passed
away on February 12th. Muriel was a member of Caledon East United Church.
Our sympathy is also extended to Josephine Palma whose father passed away in January.
Our thoughts, prayers and get well wishes go to Michelle Chessell and Bob Cannon.
Our thoughts and prayers are extended to our secretary Helga D’Arolfi and her daughter
Olivia, and the extended family as they are going through a difficult time in the loss of
Olivia’s friend Taylor Ogram.
Many thanks to those who have volunteered preparing refreshments following the
Sunday services. If you wish to volunteer contact Betty Ward at 905-584-2189.
As always, thanks to Helga, Fay B. and Sandra for editing and compiling the Link, to all
who submitted reports and to the communicating elders who distribute the Link. You are
all appreciated.
Page 13 of 20
Member Profile: Josephine Palma-Law
By Dorothy Mazeau
Josephine Palma lived the early years
of her life in the culturally rich
environment of Spadina Avenue in
Toronto. Many of her neighbours
were of Jewish or Chinese heritage;
she remembers attending her first bar
mitzvah when she was 12 years old.
Josie’s family was multi-cultural as
well. Her mother’s grandparents
were among the Ukrainian families
who first worked the land in
Saskatchewan. Josie’s own
grandmother left the prairies for
Toronto with two young children in
tow, to find a new life after a
marriage break-up. Her mother Lena
grew up here during the war, and
shortly after the war ended, met a
handsome young war veteran at a
dance. Rocco Palma, an ItalianCanadian, had served with the
Canadian Armed Forces in Europe through-out the war. Lena and Rocco shared a
passion from dancing, especially tango and jive.
Josie was the oldest of four children born to the couple. She remembers that the family
home was always full of music, ranging from tangos to rock-and-roll! She learned to
dance at an early age; dancing has been part of her live ever since. She also loved to
roller skate – dancing on wheels! She often travelled with her parents to the Mutual
Arena in Toronto, one of the many roller skating arenas in the city in those days.
When Josie was ten years old, the family bought a house in Etobicoke. She and her
brother Roy attended Catholic school through grade eight, then moved on to Scarlett
Heights Secondary School. Roy was only a couple of years younger than Josie. Their
two sisters, Christine and Darlene, were born about fifteen years later, also two years
apart, so they were almost like a second family.
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Always physically active, Josie took up the martial arts while in high school, achieving
her brown belt at nineteen. At that time girls were not encouraged to go on to get black
belts, so Josie focused on her first love: dancing.
Following her graduation from high school, Josie worked at a number of secretarial
positions, while continuing to pursue wide ranging educational endeavours, including
courses in Police Sciences, Personal Growth, Spirituality and Psychology at Humber
College. She also took the opportunity to travel, spending several weeks in Europe in
1973 and in Mexico in 1974.
Then, in 1975, while working as a secretary at an engineering firm, Josie met and fell in
love with an engineer at the company by the name of James Austin Law. Besides being
an engineer, James also was an accomplished artist and musician. He had come to
Toronto from Edmonton, Alberta, where he had grown up on the Bow River First Nations
reserve, his mother being a Native Canadian. Although he had left home many years
before, having served in both World War II and the Korean War, James missed the North,
and in 1979 the couple moved to North Bay, away from life in the big city.
James took a position at Canadore College, teaching drafting, blueprint reading and
estimating. Josie also taught at the college, teaching courses in transitional English to
First Nations students who had come from even further north to learn new skills to help
them create careers for themselves.
Both James and Josie realized that the students who were coming to them were not really
prepared for college level courses. There was a need for a transitional program to help
people upgrade their academic skills. Thus, in 1982, they founded the Seven Arrows
Learning Centre, a multi-cultural centre that would provide a valuable resource to the
North Bay community for the next sixteen years, serving both Native and non-native
people alike. Their clients included the Workers Compensation Board, several private
rehabilitation centres and private companies, as well as helping people referred to them
by the local psychiatric hospital. They worked with both children and adults, helping to
bring their students to Grade Ten level in English and math, and providing vocational
employment skills targeting each student’s career goal. They also started the first Native
Transition Program in the area in 1984.
Josie continued to upgrade her own skills to better serve her students, gaining
certification in Teaching English as a Second Language, Teaching English as a Foreign
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Language, and as an Educational Kinesiologist. She also obtained a diploma in
Psychological Testing and Analysis from Granton Institute and Nipissing University.
Josie’s work as co-founder and executive director of Seven Arrows earned her a
Teaching Excellence Award in 1988 and a nomination for the 1993 Women of
Distinction Award from the Business & Professional Women’s Club of North Bay.
Although the Laws had left Canadore College prior to starting Seven Arrows, in 1990 the
college asked them to return to provide the program to students at the college, which they
continued to do until James passed away in 1998.
Josie remained in North Bay for the year following her husband’s passing to complete
Seven Arrows’ commitments there, before returning to Southern Ontario to reconnect
with her family, who now live in the Caledon/Brampton area. She brought the Centre
with her, and has been providing tutoring in remedial English and ESL for adults, teens
and children for the past fifteen years, as well as taking on private dance students who
wished to add this wonderful experience to their lives.
Throughout all these years, dancing has remained a big part of Josie’s life. Her
understanding of the importance of movement in the learning process has added an
invaluable dimension to her work with her clientele at Seven Arrows. Josie herself has
earned Bronze Certification in American Style Ballroom and Latin Dance through the
DV Dance Association, and has competed in a number of dance competitions. She is a
regular participant in Friday evening dances in Etobicoke.
Josie first came to Caledon East United Church when the call went out for a Sunday
School teacher in 2008. Although the need for that role is currently in abeyance, Josie
frequently attends services and has made many friends among the congregation. Her
spiritual interests have led her to Bible studies an a recent mission trip to Saskatchewan
to serve the Native population in northern areas.
Next time you see Josie at a coffee hour, consider asking her to share some stories from
her interesting life.
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Outreach Report
By the Outreach Team
Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to others.
1. Special Gift Envelopes for The Mission and Service Fund – Envelopes will be
placed in the pews, choir pews, narthex and the church office for the Easter
season. Your special givings for this time of Lent are important to the M&S local,
national and international projects. Thank you for supporting The United Church
of Canada in doing the 'good works' in this world.
2. The Exchange – The Exchange, Caledon’s new community destination is now
open. All are invited to take a tour. The Exchange is located at 55 Healey Road,
Unit 10, Bolton, ON L7E 5A2. Check out their website, www.ccs4u.org for
volunteer opportunities as well as free workshops and other programs.
3. Fresh Produce Drive – Our next food drive for the New Support Food Program
at The Exchange will take place in the month of May. Most needed items include:
fresh produce, fruit, juice, juice boxes, tea and coffee. Drop off your donations
in the food drive box in the narthex or on the bench in the Paisley Room. Feel free
to make donations at anytime.
4. Green Activities:
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Earth Day Nature Walk, organized by The Outreach Committee and
hosted by CEUC, is being planned for the morning of Saturday, April 26th.
This environmental event is to connect the local community and CEUC
with nature and to build a more sensitive awareness of our precious
environment. Coffee, tea and cookies will be served at the church after the
walk. We are at the beginning stages of planning this event, so please stay
tuned for all the details.
Earth Day Canada 30 Day Challenge. For some great and fun ideas to reduce your
environmental footprint, check out this website, www.earthday.ca/campaigns and/or click
on www.earthday.ca/docs/campaign-act-for-the-planet/30-day-checklist.pdf?sfvrsn=4 for
what they did last year.
Page 17 of 20
Patchwork Quilt
“You’ve got to get rid of all those fabric scraps,” my husband said firmly, viewing
the corner of the basement where shelves were lined with boxes, and bags stuffed full of
leftover material.
Being a person who saves anything which might still be usable, i replied in my
most practical voice, “I’m planning to make a patchwork quilt someday.”
“Then get started on it right now!” So here I sit with 940 small squares of fabric
to join. Ginghams and calicos, pretty prints, stripes, and plaids wink back at me. That
nice vague “someday” has arrived. I wish now I’d given all my material scraps to the
lady down the road who makes Barbie doll clothes!
FATHER, I am so much like a tiny scrap of leftover material. On my own I am really not
very valuable. My use to You and others is limited by my human faults and failings.
Remind me occasionally, as You did today while I was working on the quilt, that beauty,
size and strength come from many scraps joining together into a greater whole. Teach me
to join with my fellow church members, neighbors, family and friends to serve You
better. Let me be one small square in that glorious patchwork quilt made up of your
faithful servants here on earth.
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Page 19 of 20
The Link is published quarterly in March, June, October and
December to serve, inform and inspire the people of Caledon East
United Church.
All contributions are gratefully appreciated.
Deadline for the Summer edition is May 18, 2014
Minister - Rev. Warren Ball,
Phone: 647-295 9651
Email: [email protected]
Editor -Maureen Robinson
Phone or Fax: (905) 584-1231
Email: [email protected]
Chair, Executive Council – Karen Hilliard
Phone (905) 584-4435
Email: [email protected]
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