May 25 - 31

All regular activities suspended through June 2

Monday

1:00 p.m. Chimes

Tuesday

1:00 p.m. Chimes

Wednesday

1:00 p.m. Chimes

Thursday

1:00 p.m. Chimes

7:00 p.m. Worship and Discussion (via Zoom)

Friday

1:00 p.m. Chimes

Saturday

1:00 p.m. Chimes

Sunday, May 31 - Day of Pentecost

10:30 a.m. Chimes

-- Worship folder and sermon available by email and on Facebook ('Our Saviour's Thunder Bay)

1:00 pm.. Fellowship Hour (via Zoom)

4:00 p.m. Anglican - Lutheran Pentecost online event - 'Our Family in Mission'

Readings:

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; I Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23

Sermon: 'Celebrate!' - Pastor Matthew

Weekly News and Newsletter:

To receive a copy of the weekly 'Our Saviour's Awesome News' or the monthly 'Ambassador' by email, please send a request to osimm@tbaytel.net.

Deadline forJune 'Ambassador' articles: June 1.

New: the text version of our current Newsletter is now published on this site on the page 'New! - Our Newsletter'. Have a look!

Update on Covid-19

-As of the order of the Provincial Government re non-essential businesses, all activities at the church, congregational and community, have been suspended through at least Tuesday, June 2.

This includes:

• Sunday and midweek worship
• other church group gatherings
• Plant and Bake Sale
• 178th Cubs
• Friendly A.A. group
• VON Falls Prevention and Exercise programme
• Thunder Bay Carvers

We have one more midweek worship and Bible Study scheduled, Thursday, May 28, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. It will be via Zoom, and details will be shared by email by the Wednesday of this week. The worship is informal (no music), and the Bible Study centres on conversation. Come share the gifts of God!

-The Regional Hospital, St. Joseph's Care Group and the long-term care facilities have have adopted the policy of excluding all visitors, including pastoral care.

-Pastor Matthew has curtailed all other direct visitation, but will be in contact through phone calls, social media, etc. He is working out of his church office and can be reached at 344-1926, osimm@tbaytel.net.

-Reflections, updates, worship folders, and Pastor's Matthew's sermons and resources are being regularly shared on our Facebook page, 'Our Saviour's Thunder Bay', and on this web site: www.oursaviourstbay.org.

New: the current Worship Outline and Sermon are now published on this site on the page 'New! - Worship Outline and Sermon'. Have a look!

-The outside carillon is being played daily at 1:00 p.m., except Sundays (10:30 a.m.)

-Pastor Mathew sends out regular email updates, and each week will be sending out a complete Sunday order of worship and sermon using the MailChimp secure bulk-mailing app. If you are not receving these, please sign up at osimm@tbaytel.net.

-Please continue to pray for those who are sick, those working on the front lines of this crisis, those facing hardships because of the changes in accessibility and panic buying, and those grieving the loss of loved ones. Through all this, we have hope in the One who is present with us, and who calls us, in ways we never perhaps thought we would be doing, to be people of hope and compassion.

Amid the unique challenges and opportunities of this year’s COVID-19 pandemic, on Sat. May 30, at 3 p.m., the Canadian Council of Churches is hosting an online ecumenical Pentecost prayer service that will allow us to “come together in one place” (Acts 2:1) in ecumenical friendship and prayer.

The season of Pentecost has always held a special significance for the ecumenical movement. With it comes the promise of new life through the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and a reminder of the unity we share, which has been forged with God’s help across differences.

Prayers, Scripture readings, and reflections will be offered in English and French.

National leaders of CCC member churches from across Canada will lead the service. The Rev. Amanda Currie, Moderator of the 2019 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and the Most Rev. Pierre Goudreault, Roman Catholic Bishop of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, will offer brief reflections.

Other service leaders include:

• The Rt. Rev. Richard Bott, Moderator of the United Church of Canada
• The Rev. Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
• The Rev. Stephen Kendall, President of The Canadian Council of Churches
• The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada
• Pastor Peter Noteboom, General Secretary of The Canadian Council of Churches
• Commissioner Floyd J. Tidd, Territorial Commander of The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda
• The Rev. Archpriest Fr. Zareh Zargarian, Vicar, Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, Canadian Diocese

For info and registration: ecumenical-pentecost.eventbrite.ca

Our Carillon

While activities are suspended at the church, we will play hymns on our outside 'bells', about 1:00 p.m., each week day and Saturday, as a source of peace and renewal. On Sunday they will be played at 10:30 a.m.

On Dec. 11, 2016 our Sunday School children unveiled the names of the 'bells', the bell-shaped external speakers for our chimes.

They are 'Glory, Joy, Love, Honour'.

Thank you to the children, the leaders, and all who offered suggestions for the names.

The bells first hung in the tower of Our Saviour's on Secord Street, donated in 1958 by Mr. Ogden. Since 1970 they have hung outside the choir loft window at our location on Farrand Street -- thanks to Gerry LaForme for installing them back then!

National Bishop Susan's Daily Hymn and Prayer

Join our National Bishop:

"Many of us are feeling isolated as we practice social distancing because of COVID-19. Join me each day in focusing our prayers around one hymn."

Each day, Bishop Susan will be suggesting a hymn from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Join her to pray while you sing, and then in prayer through the petition. Please share these with others in your community.

http://elcic.ca/publichealth/BishopSusanHymnandPrayer.cfm

Rejoice Now All the Earth!

LWF Communion Prayer for the Easter Season 2020

An LWF prayer guide for the 50 days of Easter, continuing solidarity with churches and individuals around the world during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Each day includes a Psalm, Bible text, meditation and prayer. The Sunday meditations relate to the common theme of baptism.

The guide refers to Martin Luther’s encouragement in his letter on A Simple Way to Pray:

“Never think that you are kneeling or standing alone, rather think that the whole of the Church…are standing there beside you and you are standing among them in a common, united petition which God cannot disdain. There we find God the Creator, God the Redeemer, God the Holy Spirit, that is, God who daily sanctifies us.”

www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200517_easter_reflections_week_7_en.pdf

www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200517_-_easter_reflections_week_6_en.pdf

www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200510_easter_reflections_week_5_en.pdf

www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200501_easter_reflections_week_4_en.pdf

https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200422_easter_reflections_week_3_en.pdf

https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200415_easter_reflections_week_2_en.pdf

https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200415_easter_reflections_week_1_en.pdf

COVID-19: Collective action for Argentina’s indigenous communities

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina/GENEVA

20/5/2020

(LWI) – When Argentina declared a national quarantine, restricting movement and suspending all public activities on 20 March to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Evangelical Church of the River Plate (IERP) was especially concerned about the indigenous Mbyá Guaraní communities in the northeastern province of Misiones.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member church was aware such necessary measures would make life more difficult for already vulnerable populations, whose survival largely depends on contact with other towns in the province. The Mbyá inhabitants of the Ruiz de Montoya municipality, mainly make a living from labor in informal sectors outside their communities and income based on state programs. They have little access to nutritious food, health and sanitation.

Through its congregation in Ruiz de Montoya, the IERP increased the focus of its long-standing diaconal work there to include prevention of the spread of COVID-19 as the church looked for additional funds. The work of Hora de Obrar (“Time for action”)--the IERP foundation for diaconal work--was expanded to include distribution of food items and sanitation material, awareness raising and collaboration with the local health center. This would ensure 100 indigenous families and other vulnerable households in the municipality receive assistance.

Lutheran communion solidarity

The IERP is among 33 churches that by mid-May had received funding from the LWF COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund (RRF). The fund, launched in April, will support many of the communion’s member churches that are particularly vulnerable during the global health emergency. Upon approval of a project application, a church can receive a grant of up to EUR 5,000 from the global fund supported by LWF’s member church partners around the world.

“This assistance is important because vulnerable families can fulfill their basic needs in a context where economic activities, transportation and access to services are paralyzed,” says IERP diaconal practitioner Fabián Dinamarca, who is responsible for Hora de Obrar programs and projects.

The LWF funding will also augment the local fundraising efforts of the Argentine church diaconal institutions, community centers and congregations to provide emergency food and sanitation items to more than 1,100 families in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.

According to the World Health Organization, Argentina, with a population of 44 million people, had recorded 8,068 COVID-19 cases by 19 May, including 373 fatalities.

The quarantine has resulted in significant job losses, and 11 million people have applied for state emergency assistance. They receive around USD 140 dollars or as low as USD 100 considering the influence of the informal financial market, Dinamarca says. “Most people have not yet received the first payment and the latest news is that the government plans to complete the first disbursement until the end of May, and launch a second one from June onwards,” he adds. For the church’s diaconal context, this translates into “lack of the most basic needs among many families.”

Hot Lunch

While learning in Argentina’s public schools is still suspended to contain the coronavirus spread, the Takuapí indigenous school, which the IERP established in 1995, stands out as an important expression of diakonia during the COVID-19 crisis. Five days a week, from Monday to Friday, nearly 100 children and elderly people from the community receive a hot nutritious lunch prepared in the school kitchen by local women.

“These efforts help to ensure that people stay in their communities and reduce unnecessary contacts in town, which will go a long way in preventing the spread of the virus,” Dinamarca says.

The additional support from LWF's RRF enables the Misiones province IERP’s Hora de Obrar field team and Takuapí school staff to boost their food distribution and sanitation item supplies beyond the targeted 100 indigenous families. “Thanks to this solidarity, we have been able to reach other communities in need. Luckily, so far, no COVID-19 cases have been reported among the Mbyá communities,” Dinamarca adds.

The LWF has been supporting IERP’s diaconal work among indigenous people in Argentina for several years. The RRF support will cover an emergency period of six weeks.

With input from Fabián Dinamarca, IERP diaconal practitioner.

World Council of Churches Weekly Prayer Cycle

Angola, Mozambique

24 - 30 May 2020

Intercessions

We are thankful for:

• the rich natural resources in these countries, which God intends for the good of all
• the positive developments experienced since years of civil war
• village committees that seek to protect livelihoods and food security of the poor
• how the Lutheran World Federation and partners have pursued land rights in Mozambique.

We pray for:

• better sanitation, health services, and protection of the environment in these lands
• a healing of the lingering scars and memories from colonization and civil wars
• protection of the land rights of the people
• governments that are transparent and further the good of all the people, rather than being captive to foreign and business interests.

Prayers

God of love and compassion, we approach you full of grief and shame, because we just cannot understand how it is that you love us so much. We feel that we are living under the shadow of death. We find it difficult to understand that you have already brought us out from there and that you hope to see in us signs showing our faith and trust in the eternal life promised us by Jesus.

Do not forsake us. Rather, guide us in ways of hope that one day Africa will know and live in peace, health and prosperity, through the grace and mercy given us by your Son, Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(Felicidade N. Cherinda, Mozambique. In: AfricaPraying – A Handbook on HIV/AIDS Sensitive Sermon Guidelines and Liturgy)

We sincerely thank you, O God,

for your powerful gift of hope

in the face of seemingly hopeless situations.

We thank you for your peace

in the hearts and minds of men and women

in this part of Africa

who believe you are the living God,

quick to save in time of danger.

You reign above all,

directing the course and destiny of the universe.

(Joao Makondekwa, Bible Society of Angola. WAGP p. 337)

Prayer of an African Christian

God,

enlarge my heart

that it may be big enough

to receive the greatness of your love.

Stretch my heart

that it may take into it

all those around the world

who, with me, believe in Jesus Christ.

Stretch it

that it may take into it

all those who are not lovely in my eyes,

and whose hands I do not want to touch;

through Jesus Christ, my saviour.