Our Saviour's This Week:

August 1-8

Monday

Civic holiday - office closed

Tuesday

Wednesday

11:00 a.m. Leslie Nagy funeral - at church

Thursday

10:30 a.m. John Alsch funeral - at Sargent's

Friday

Saturday

Sunday, August 8, Time after Pentecost

10:30 a.m. In-person Service of the Word (Recorded video on YouTube later on Sunday)

1:00 p.m. Virtual Fellowship Hour (last one for summer)

Readings: I Kings 19:4-8; Psalm 34:1-8; Ephesians 4:25 -5:2; John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon - Pastor Matthew

Sunday Virtual Fellowship Hours

Join us each non- Communion Sunday, 1:00 p.m.

Upcoming:

- August 8 (last one until after Labour Day)

Zoom invitations are sent out each Saturday, or contact Pastor Matthew. Bring your coffee!

Newsletter:

To receive a copy of the monthly 'Ambassador' by email, please send a request to osimm@tbaytel.net.

The text version of our Summer (Updated) Newsletter is on the page ' Our Newsletter'.

Deadline for September 'Ambassador' articles: Sept. 7

Recorded Services:

-Our services are recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Thunder Bay’:

New: August 1, Time after Pentecost:

https://youtu.be/ZfJGKrDKxKM

July 25, Time after Pentecost:

https://youtu.be/_YKn4Cb46ZI

July 18, Time after Pentecost:

https://youtu.be/yoO-9wK8fsE

July 11, Time after Pentecost:

https://youtu.be/D-Fegg0T0Zw

July 4, Time after Pentecost:

https://youtu.be/rc1VdyaSSbY

Holy Communion during this time

Private Communion continues to be available.

For these 10 minute gatherings, you will need to follow our protocols: self-screen, sign in, wear a mask, and keep socially distant. Along with brief readings and prayer, for the sacrament you will receive a pre-packaged piece of bread (you can also bring your own). Wine/grape juice will not be shared at the present time. However, you can also bring your own.

You can receive Communion while staying in your car, sitting in the front hall/sanctuary, or outside at the back or front of the building.

You are invited to contact Pastor Matthew, 344-1926, osimm@tbaytel.net, to reserve a spot to receive Holy Communion.

Times available this coming week:

Tues - Thurs.: 4:30 and 7:00 p.m.

Sat.: 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Sun: 3:00 p.m.

“Come share the gifts of God – serve the world”

LETTER CONCERNING THE RAPE AND MURDER OF 3 LUMAD INDIGENOUS YOUTH

July 13, 2021

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs

House of Commons

Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

Dear Minister,

We are a coalition of churches and organizations concerned about the escalating violence in the Philippines and the seeming lack of Canadian government response. The massacre of three Lumad (Indigenous) youth, including a 12-year-old child, on June 15, 2021, in the town of Lianga is emblematic of the rising human rights crisis.

We call on the Canadian government to end all support and cooperation with the Philippine military and police. This includes withdrawal and end of financial assistance for anti-terrorism and training provided directly to the Philippine government or through other entities such as the ASEAN, Interpol, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).

This is a clear recommendation from the second report of INVESTIGATE PH released and submitted to the High Commissioner’s Office on Human Rights (OHCHR) on July 6, 2021. This report documents how the government’s anti-terrorism operations are increasingly targeting unarmed Indigenous people who are resisting the encroachment on their lands by resource companies.

INVESTIGATE PH is a project launched by peoples from all over the world, including Canadian churches, trade unions, and human rights organizations, after the 45th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) in 2020 failed to establish an independent, international mechanism to investigate the state of human rights in the Philippines. They believe that the human rights technical assistance and capacity building prescribed by the UN HRC to the Philippine government is inadequate to address the worsening human rights crisis. INVESTIGATE PH will submit its final report and findings to the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights prior to the 48th UN HRC session in September 2021.

According to reports from the human rights group Karapatan, the victims of the June 15 massacre, Willy Rodriguez, Lenie Rivas, and 12-year-old Angel Rivas, asked permission from soldiers illegally occupying their villages to go to their farm. Despite this, Angel (12) and Lenie (21) were assaulted, raped, and shot dead by the 3rd Special Forces Battalion of the Philippine Army. Their bodies were brought to the army headquarters in St. Christine, Surigao del Sur, and were tagged as New People’s Army members. They are the latest victims of the state’s red-tagging campaign against the Lumads in Lianga communities. Military troops massacred six farmers in 2019 and 3 community leaders in 2015, claiming they were members of the New People’s Army.

The conflict between the Philippine government and Indigenous communities across Mindanao is a struggle around resource development. Indigenous communities continue to be displaced as the government and international mining companies covet their mineral-rich lands.

The June 15,2021 massacre occurred just one day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into crimes of humanity against the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This heinous crime shows that the Philippine government is failing to take meaningful steps in stopping human rights violations. Tens of thousands have died in Duterte’s so-called ‘War on Drugs. The human rights organization, Karapatan, has documented at least 300 cases of farmers, indigenous peoples, human rights defenders, including 55 lawyers and judges, who have been killed since Duterte came to power in 2016.

INVESTIGATE PH repeatedly hears from witnesses that domestic accountability mechanisms fail the victims of human rights violations, their families, and communities. The efforts arising from the 45th UNHRC resolution on human rights technical cooperation and capacity building and the UN Joint Program are inadequate in providing meaningful actions to address the worsening human rights situation.

Since the 2017 public statement of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the human rights situation in the Philippines, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) officials have indicated a preference for quiet diplomacy. The time for quiet diplomacy with the Duterte Regime is over.

Mr. Minister, enough is enough. We call on you to publicly condemn this state-sponsored terror against the Filipino people. We urgently ask you to follow through with the commitment of your government to ensure human rights and use this as a lens for any ongoing and planned cooperation with the Duterte government.

In relation to the 48th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in September 2021, we urge the Government of Canada:

To act on the findings of INVESTIGATE PH, including suspension of all military and police aid.

To work with other UN HRC members and observer states to approve an independent, international and thorough investigation into the human rights situation in the Philippines.

The United Nations Human Rights Council must take decisive actions as more lives are put at greater risk. We call on the Government of Canada to work with other member states to make this happen.

Signatories:

Aisha Francis, Executive Director, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

Alliance for People’s Health (APH)

Anakbayan-Canada (Youth of the Philippine Nation)

BAYAN-Canada

Beaconsfield Initiative

Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR)

Campaign to Defend People’s Struggle in Iran

Contemporary and transdisciplinary Southeast Asia Studies Group – Univ. de Montréal

Eco-Justice Unit, Anglican Diocese of New Westminster

East Indian Defence Committee (EIDC)

Gabriela BC

Global Pinoy Diaspora Canada (GPDC)

Inter Pares

International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines – Quebec

International Indigenous Youth Conference (IIYC2005)

Dr. Leonora Angeles, Professor, University of British Columbia (UBC)

The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, Primate, Anglican Church of Canada

The Most Rev. Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop, Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples

The Rev. Michael Blair, General Secretary, General Council, The United Church of Canada

Mining Justice Alliance (MJA)

MiningWatch Canada

Migrante BC

Palestinian Youth Movement (Vancouver)

Pinoy Pride Vancouver

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund

Public Service Alliance of Canada

SAMIDOUN (Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network)

Sister Sandra Shannon, General Superior, Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD)

Solidarity Notes Labour Choir

Sulong University of British Columbia

The Rev. Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Dr. Valerie Raoul, Professor Emerita, University of British Columbia (UBC)

Vancouver and District Labour Council (VDLC)

A Renewed Call to Reconciliation

June 1, 2021

From our national and synodical Bishops:

It has been devastating and heartbreaking to hear that the remains of 215 children buried in unmarked graves have been found on the Kamloops Indian Residential School grounds.

We invite all members across the ELCIC to join us in offering our heartfelt empathy and prayers for the families of those children, for the Tk’emlúpste Secwépemc First Nation, for the City of Kamloops and for First Nations Communities across Canada as they grieve this loss. Let us offer solidarity, support and care to all who are feeling grief, anger, trauma and the need for healing. Please join us in praying for comfort and peace.

News about undocumented deaths of our nation’s Indigenous children is tragic. Yet, as Richard Jock, CEO of the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) said, “[it] is sadly not a surprise and illustrates the damaging and lasting impacts that the residential school system continues to have on First Nations people, their families and communities.” This is further proof of the sinful and abusive legacy of these schools — schools in which the church and government were active participants.

The remains of these children show us the depth of our systemic racism and the lengths that the dominant culture was willing to go in order to destroy another culture. Many of us can connect our ancestors to the history of the dominant culture. Knowledge of this cruel history is something that demands our repentance, but also asks us to faithfully work for a better and different future.

We name today the devastating and ongoing cultural, emotional, and spiritual impact that residential schools continue to have on Indigenous peoples.

In 2011, the ELCIC made a commitment to promote right and renewed relationships between nonindigenous and Indigenous Peoples within Canada. In 2015, the ELCIC repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery. We committed ourselves to seek greater understanding of the issues facing Indigenous peoples, and to walk with Indigenous peoples in their ongoing efforts to exercise their inherent sovereignty and fundamental human rights.

We call on all members of the ELCIC to re-engage in the work of reconciliation to which we have been

called in baptism. This means educating ourselves on our history and understanding. It means listening to

the voices that are often marginalized or silenced in our conversations.

It also means insisting on accountability. Talk with your government representatives and encourage them

to follow through on recommendations #71-#76 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

(TRC) Calls to Action dealing specifically with Missing Children and Burial Information. Talk with your pastor, your deacon and your faith community about responding to Calls to Action #59-#61 in your context.

If you are looking for further resources, please consider the following:

-2011 ELCIC Convention Resolution on Encouraging Right Relationships with Indigenous Peoples

-2015 ELCIC Convention Resolution repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery

-The Anglican Church of Canada 2019 Apology for Spiritual Harm

-Anglican Church of Canada Reconciliation Toolkit

-Indigenous Ministries award winning film Doctrine of Discovery: Stolen lands, Strong Hearts

-The KAIROS Blanket Exercise

-The TRC Calls to Action

Lastly, we return again to our need to pray. Pray for Indigenous siblings, for right relationships, for your community, and for ourselves as we continue to live into our ministry of reconciliation in Christ’s name.

Join us in prayer:

Faithful God,

We remember the many, many, Indigenous children who did not return from residential school, including those whose remains were discovered on the grounds of the Kamloops (Tk’emlúps) Residential School. Grant comfort in the midst of grief and trauma. Strengthen the Secwépemc people, Indian Residential School survivors, their families and their communities as they process this tragic loss. Renew our commitment to the journey of truth-telling, mourning and responsibility and guide us in the ways of healing and love. Amen.

World Council of Churches Prayer Cycle

Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe

01 - 07 August 2021

INTERCESSIONS

We are thankful for:

• wildlife and rainforests in these lands, and those who protect this habitat

• the oral traditions, folklore, and good practices that have been preserved

• rich minerals and economic development, although benefits need to be shared more fairly

• healing from exploitative practices that began under colonial rule.

We pray for:

• democratic fair elections and political stability in this region

• economic development that benefits all the people, especially those living in poverty

• preservation of the wildlife and the land

• the witness of the churches and other faith groups in the midst of the challenges.

PRAYERS

Lord, if you want that we should love you with all our heart, without distraction or detour, teach us to become constant in your love.

When those without faith or law insult us,help us to forgive, O Resurrected One.

Jesus, the friend of the people of the Congo, your Father is not a God of the dead but of the living;therefore, guide us in your love,so that we may live in your presence forever.

(Louise Bakala Koumouno, People’s Republic of Congo.)

A Pygmy Prayer

In the beginning God was.

Today God is.

Tomorrow God will be.

Who could possibly make an image of God?

God does not have a body.

God is a word that springs from our mouths.

And what a word!

There is nothing more to be said.

God is the past, and yet God is.

That is what God is.

Prayer for transformation

Barriers, walls, and barbed wire mark the frontiers, O Lord.

Help us to transform them into places where we can meet, with sincerity, as countries and as persons, so that the world will know that we are Christians by the love with which our actions are marked.

(Louise Bakala Koumouno, People’s Republic of Congo.)

OFFERINGS

Thank you for your offerings, sharing the gifts of God so that together we might serve the world!

During our in-person worship, you are able to share your offerings at the entrance to the sanctuary. At other times, and for those unable to attend worship, here are other options:

1. Mail envelopes to the church

Mailing address: 10 Farrand St. Thunder Bay P7A 3H5

2. Drop envelopes off at church

You can drop off envelopes in the mailbox beside the parking lot doors. Calling to let us know, 344-1926, is appreciated, so that the offering can be brought inside as soon as possible.

3. E-Transfer online banking

a. If you use online banking, log into your account

b. Add Our Saviour’s as a recipient using our office email address:

osimm.office@tbaytel.net

c. Enter the desired amount and click ‘send’.

4. Sign up for Pre-Authorized Withdrawal (PAR)

You are able to have your monthly offerings directly deposited from your financial institution to that of the church. You can designate it 1-3 ways: Weekly, Building, Forward in Mission. You also can receive undated envelopes for other offerings. To sign up, call the office. If you desire to make any changes at any time of the year, or if you have updates on your address or financial institution, please call the church office, 344-1926.

5. Canada Helps

Our regional synod office has set up Canada Helps button link, you can use to donate to congregations. The charitiable donation receipt will be issued by Canada Helps directly. (It is important to note that there is a cost to using Canada Helps as our donation service. Please considering adding 4% to your donation to cover these costs.)

http://mnosynod.org/donate/

Sets of envelopes for your 2021 Sunday and special offerings are available in the front hall. If you are a present envelope holder, or wish to sign up for one, please contact the office, 344-1926, osimm@tbaytel.net .

Again, we are so thankful for your faithful generosity.