Season of Creation

On Sunday, September 24, as part of Worship with the Band, we will use the liturgy for Season of Creation. The theme for the 2023 Season of Creation is Let Justice and Peace Flow.     

    The Season of Creation is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment. It is an annual inter-church season where we pray and act together as a Christian family for our common home. Individuals and communities are invited to participate through prayer, sustainability projects and advocacy.

    The Season of Creation begins on Sept. 1, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations.

Blessing of the Animals

This event is traditionally held on the feast of St. Francis, friend of animals and creation. We are having a short gathering on Weds. Oct. 4, at 6:30 p.m. – outside the front doors, or inside the front hall, depending on weather. All pets and their humans are welcome, including those from those of friends and neighbours. There will also be a prayer for pets of our memories.

Fall Kick-Off

On Sunday, October 1, at Fellowship Hour we are having a potluck luncheon to kickoff the return to our fuller schedule of ministry during this season. This includes our Sunday School, meeting for the first time that morning. Please bring something to share, as you are able. (Reminders: space in the refrigerator is limited, and nut ingredients should be avoided.) Invite your family, friends, and neighbours to this celebration!

Fall Supper

Sun. Oct. 29, 5:00 p.m. To make this happen, we need volunteers to donate soups and stews and desserts, and people to help with the set-up and take down. Watch for the sign-up sheet in the front hall! Our freewill offerings will be given to a local charity, to be decided at the Oct. Council meeting.

The church is open! 

River Street will remain closed between Farrand and Elm until at least the end of September while we wait for repairs at McVicar Creek to take place.  Farrand Street remains open, with access from cross streets off Algoma St. N., or from Margaret Ave. We will post updates.   

We gather each Sunday at 10:30 a.m., celebrating Holy Communion on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month and festivals. Other Sundays are Service of the Word. Worship with the Band returns on September 24.

   As we meet, we record the services. They are uploaded later on Sunday to our YouTube channel, ‘Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Thunder Bay’.   Closed captions are available on the video – corrections and song lyrics are added as time allows.

   Texts of the bulletin and sermon are also mailed out on Saturday: sign up for our enews: osimm@tbaytel.net. They are posted on our website on Saturday: www.oursaviourstbay.org .

Holy Communion at Our Saviour's

Holy Communion is being shared in both kinds. We continue to receive a ‘wafer-in-a-cup’ as we enter the sanctuary. At the time of the Communion we eat the bread while sitting in the pews. (Gluten-free wafers are available – please see the usher. You may also bring your own bread.) Then we are invited to come up the centre aisle to receive the wine/grape juice. Prefilled glasses in trays are on a table at the foot of the chancel stairs. After taking a glass, please go off to the side and drink. There is a receptacle for the used glasses as we go back to our seats via the side aisles.

  If watching online, when the presiding minister says, ‘The body and blood of Christ given and shed for you’, we welcome all to take and eat a piece of bread, and then to take a glass of wine or other beverage, remembering and giving thanks for the promises of grace, forgiveness, love, new life, and community given us in Christ Jesus.

 The Health Unit continues to recommend the wearing of masks in public areas when social distancing cannot be maintained. 

The Congregational Council endorses this for those who wish to wear masks, and continues to make masks and hand sanitizer available in the front hall and Immanuel Hall.

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Pastoral Visits

Pastor Matthew once again is able to have home visits, and to go to Long Term Care homes. This includes sharing Holy Communion. 

Contact him at 807-344-1926, osimm@tbaytel.net. 

Pastor Matthew visits at the Regional Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Hospital. However, as the administrations there haven’t yet reestablished clergy access to the patient lists, it is vital that you contact him with information about who is a patient who would benefit from such care. (His ESP doesn’t always know if people are in the hospital, but he’s working on it!)

Lutheran Community Care Chapel Services

LCC, through its Pastoral Care Associate, Liisa Lahtinen, coordinates Lutheran services at the Long Term Care homes. Pastor Matthew presides at two of them, with Vi Peternelj leading the music. All are welcome to attend, including as volunteers (contact Pastor Matthew for more information).

We gather from 10:30-11:00 a.m.:

on the 1st Tues. of the month at Roseview, in the main floor gathering space;

and, on the last Thurs. of the month at Hogarth Riverivew, in the chapel past the main entrance.

Learning:

Children:

This fall our in-person sessions are increasing to twice monthly, on the first and third Sundays. We will begin on October 1 and 15, leaving September for us all to get settled.

The sessions, for children in JK – Gr. 6, begin downstairs in Immanuel Hall at 10:30 a.m. for Bible stories, crafts, and other activities. Then those in the class come up to share Holy Communion.

See Karen Bishop, co-ordinator, for more information.

   Activity sheets for each Sunday are available in the front hall and are also emailed on Thursday. To sign up for these: osimm@tbaytel.net . 

   There are Adventure activity bags under the mailboxes inside the entrance to the sanctuary, for children to enjoy during worship.

The next seasonal activity pack, for Thanksgiving/Fall, will be ready at the beginning of October for pick-up or drop off. For the latter, email osimm@tbaytel.net.

Confirmation:

Confirmation classes will be offered in hybrid form again this fall – mostly online, but with special times together. These hopefully will include gathering with the Confirmation youth from Hilldale Lutheran Church.

Classes will begin shortly after Thanksgiving.

This ministry of the church helps youth to continue in the promises made at Baptism. All youth Grade 7 and older are welcome. See Pastor Matthew.

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Food Collection 

Food donations received in the wicker basket in the front hall are being given to the Gathering Table’s food bank and to those in need. Thank you!

We will celebrate Thanksgiving on Sun. Oct. 8, at 10:30 a.m., with Service of the Word (recording uploaded later to our YouTube channel). Please bring food donations to decorate the sanctuary. The harvest will be shared with the Gathering Table’s Food Bank.

ELCIC National Bishop joins church leaders in calling for search of landfill

On Tuesday, September 5 Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan Johnson joined four other church leaders and visit Camp Morgan at Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill.

The leaders called for justice, a search of Prairie Green landfill, and an end to the violence against Indigenous women, children, and Two-Spirit people. 

Camp Morgan has been situated near the entrance of the Brady Road landfill since December 2022. It is one of two current camps (Camp Mercedes at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights) within Winnipeg honouring the lives of two missing and murdered Indigenous women, Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, who are believed to be homicide victims buried within Winnipeg’s major dumping stations.

Bishop Johnson joined in solidarity with The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, Moderator of the United Church of Canada, The Rev. Mary Fontaine, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, The Rt. Rev. Chris Harper, National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop and Presiding Elder of the Sacred Circle, and The Rev. Canon Dr. Murray Still, Co-Chair of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples, in calling for an immediate search of Prairie Green landfill. 

“I always hope that I am going to learn something new, and that my voice can be used in a more positive way,” Bishop Johnson says. “Whether we can change what’s happening in terms of the landfill is one thing, but whether we can continue to speak out against missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in a more passionate and knowable way would also be a benefit anyhow.”

Having long served as an advocate of the World Council of Churches’ Thursdays in Black – an initiative to curb the tragic realities of gender-based violence – Bishop Johnson says that if the leaders’ actions go unanswered by the province, the next steps would involve following up with phone calls and the writing of letters to politicians of all levels of government. 

Spearheaded by the United Church of Canada and led by the four denominational leaders of the major churches, the gathering on September 5 was open to the public, to which other faith-based leaders and followers were encouraged to attend.

For more coverage, please visit: 

https://united-church.ca/news/action-support-voices-camp-marcedes-and-camp-morgan

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/church-leaders-manitoba-landfill-search-1.6950423

https://globalnews.ca/news/9925834/canadian-churches-join-call-manitoba-landfill-search/

Back to School Prayer

As a new school year begins, the MNO Synod Youth Committee composed a prayer to remind students, parents, administrators, support staff, and all involved in education in any way, that we are praying for you!

Gracious and loving God,

thank you for the gift of education in all of its forms.

We pray for all who are returning to school this fall.

As they prepare to start a new school year, may confidence be their foundation.

May grace and empathy be their guide, and curiosity and hope be their compass.

May they have eyes to see the needs of those around them and courage to act with wisdom in challenging situations.

Grant them openness to face each day with interest, knowing that no matter what, they do not face it alone!

Help them to know that You are with them, and their faith community is behind them.

Amen.

World Council of Churches Prayer Cycle 

Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

17 - 23 September 2023

We are thankful for:

individuals, churches and other organizations who remain committed to seeking healing, justice and truth

the furthering of human rights and democratic institutions

the ways in which those of different faiths and ethnicities are working together for the common good and for the needs of people and creation

how churches, from out of what people are experiencing, have led global ecumenical work for an economy that serves life.

We pray for:

greater respect for Indigenous people and greater acceptance of all peoples across bounds of ethnicity and religion

The protection of children from violence and abuse, and recognition of their rights and dignity

effective help and empowerment for those who live in poverty and other marginalizing situations

those who protect and care for the region’s threatened soil, forests, waters, and glaciers

truth and justice in continuing investigations to find those responsible for crimes against humanity, and continued healing for those affected

economic development that benefits all and effectively addresses the systemic factors that impede it.

The creed of the pilgrim God

We believe in a pilgrim God, who crosses frontiers, boundaries and barriers, who leaves his greatness behind and meets us on the way and comes to us holding out his hand.

‘I am the Lord, your God, I care for you, I am coming with you.’

We believe in Jesus Christ, who walked on our earth, who was born homeless, who found no place to lay his head, wandering, journeying, even when a child pursued.

He revealed justice, brought people peace, and played out his life even unto death itself.

We believe in the Spirit, who shapes and polishes us, with blasts of wind and sand, who gives us courage to witness to the boundless grace of God.

(Margarita Ouwerkerk, Argentina

OFFERINGS

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

During our 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 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/

Envelopes for your 2023 offerings are. available. If you wish to sign up for a supply,  please contact the office, 344-1926, osimm@tbaytel.net .

Again, we are so thankful for your faithful generosity.